Through the Years
by The Original Bad Girl Nicole
Summary: Buffy and Cordelia meet as kids.This is their friendship told through the years.
1. Kindergarten Friends

Title: Through the Years

Author: Nicole A.K.A slay4you1978

Email: Buffy and Cordelia meet as kids. This is their stories through the years.

Disclaimers: They do not belong to me. All hail the mighty Joss and Company.

Distribution: If you have my permission it's all good. For anyone else just as and I will say yes. My personal yahoo group and live journal.

Feedback: Is a definite must! I need it like I need chocolate.

School Days

Buffy was dragged from her mother's car kicking and screaming. Today was her first day of kindergarten and she was not happy. Mrs. Calendar came out and met Buffy at the door, she tried to calm the young girl down.

"Hi sweetie my name is Mrs. Calendar. What's your name?" She asked the little girl.

"My name is Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Buffy." She gave her a watery smile.

Joyce smiled at the other lady.

"Well Buffy, I understand that going to a new school can be scary. You will make friends and have fun and it won't seem so bad anymore." She held out her hand for the little girl to take.

Buffy looked back and forth between her mother and the teacher. Joyce gave a nod of her head and Buffy took the teacher's hand.

"I will be here to pick you up after school okay."

"Bye mommy." She gave her mother a hug and followed Mrs. Calendar into class.

"Kids settle down. We have a new student joining us today." She looked at Buffy.

She was standing nervously in front of the class. All the eyes on her were scary, she looked up at her teacher with questioning eyes. She nodded her head as if to say 'it's okay'.

"Would you like to tell us a little about yourself?"

Buffy nodded her head.

"My name is Elizabeth Anne Summers, but my family calls me Buffy. I just moved her from LA."

She looked out at the class and smiled. Mrs. Calendar ushered her to her seat, she was in between a brunette girl and a blonde haired girl.

"Hi Buffy, I'm Cordelia Chase and that blonde girl next to you is Tara. She's real shy just like you."

Buffy gave both girls a smile. School wasn't going to be so bad after all.

RECESS

Buffy was sitting out on the bench watching the other kids play. She missed the comforts of her school in LA, she had lots of friends. This new school was a lot different and the kids weren't as nice.

"How come you're sitting by yourself?" Cordelia asked as she sat down next to the blonde.

"I don't know anyone."

Cordelia got up and pulled Buffy by the hand.

"Come on I'm going to introduce you to everyone." She didn't give Buffy a chance to respond.

"Everybody listen up." She said loudly.

All the kids on the playground looked at her. Even at five years old she held power.

"This is my friend Buffy Summers and she's new. Let's show her that we are a friendly bunch." She turned and smiled at the little girl.

A little red head approached Buffy first. She was a little taller than Buffy, but had a huge smile on her face.

"I'm Willow and I'm in Ms. Lacey's class. That boy over there is Alexander Harris we call him Xander though."

She looked over to the other side of the playground and saw a group of boys and girls standing off to the side.

"Who are they?" Buffy asked.

The other blonde Tara spoke up, "That's the trouble makers, the one that looks like a blonde sheep is Spike, the one with the spiky hair and the big forehead is Angelus, the raven haired girl standing next to William is Drusilla she has a sister named Faith and they are complete opposites." Tara finished explaining.

"I need to stay away from them then." She smiled and the other girls joined in.

Cordelia took Buffy's hand and led her to another end of the playground. She pointed to another raven haired girl and a few other blondes.

"That is Drusilla's sister Faith, she's real nice. The blonde with the green eyes is Darla she's in the first grade, and the other girl is Anya she's in the same grade as us, she loves money."

The school bell rang and it was time for them to go to class. Cordelia never let go of Buffy's hand. In that moment they both knew that their friendship was forever. The kids were divided into centers and Buffy was in the art center with Angel and Drusilla. She was painting a picture when Angel dumped purple paint all over her dress.

"I'm sorry fluffy, but you were in my way." He teased.

She had to try and stop the tears from falling.

"My name is not fluffy it's Buffy and you are a big meanie!"

Mrs. Calendar saw this and made her way over to the kids.

"Children what happened?" She looked at Buffy's dress and saw the purple paint.

"Angel poured the paint on my dress for no reason. He's a mean ugly boy and I don't like him." She stated.

"Now Buffy that's not nice. Angel, apologize to Buffy right this minute." She said sternly.

He looked at her, "Sorry Buffy." He said sadly, he really didn't want to do it, but Drusilla dared him to do it.

Mrs. Calendar took Buffy to the bathroom so she could get cleaned up. Cordelia saw the whole thing and she went over to Angel.

"I saw what you did, and it was not nice." She pushed the green paint on his pants. "How do you like it now? Leave my friend alone!"

All the kids started laughing at him. He ran out of the classroom. Cordelia was about to say something to Drusilla until she saw Buffy's picture. It was of her and Buffy playing outside; she let out a smile and went back to her center. School was over and Buffy couldn't be happier. Not only did her dress get ruined, but she made some pretty cool friends.

"Hi Buffy." Willow sat down beside her.

"Hi Willow." She smiled at the girl.

"You're waiting for your mommy?" She asked timidly.

"Yeah, she is a little late, but it's okay she has her own gallery."

Buffy and Willow kept talking until they saw a black limo pull up. Buffy looked up in amazement.

"Who is that?" Buffy asked.

"That's Cordelia's personal limo. She's very wealthy you know." She said in awe.

Cordelia came out of the school with a smile on her face. She stopped when she was Willow and Buffy sitting on the bench.

"Your mommy's aren't here to pick you up?" She asked both girls.

Just then both Willow's and Buffy's mom pulled up.

"They just pulled up." Buffy said brightly. Willow had already walked to her mom and was talking non stop.

Buffy was about to go to her mom when Cordelia stopped her.

"I made this for you." She held out a macaroni bracelet.

Buffy put it on her arm. "Thank you, Cordy." I have something for you too. She pulled out the picture she made in art.

"I like the picture thank you." She gave Buffy a smile. She turned and walked to her car, and Buffy walked to her mom.

"Hi honey how was your first day?" She asked her daughter.

She turned and looked at the brunette one more time.

"It was good. I made a new friend." Buffy smiled and got in the car.


	2. First Grade Jitters

Through The Years 2?

Disclaimers in part 1

I had a severe case of writers block when dealing with this story. I had to figure out what kind of drama can go on in grade school. So naturally I looked to my daughter.

First Grade

Buffy entered the class with a little trepidation. First grade was a lot different from kindergarten, she hoped some people from her class last year would be here. She looked for her desk and was happy to be sitting next to Cordelia. They didn't get to spend time over the summer because she was in the Bahamas. So Buffy spent her summer with Willow, Xander and Tara. Even though the other blonde was quite shy.

Cordelia came bouncing in the classroom full of energy. Her parents had a hard time keeping up with the little spit fire. She looked around and noticed Buffy sitting at her desk, a smile formed on her face. Looking around for her desk she found she was next to Buffy. She had missed her so much during the summer. If she would have had her way she would've stayed.

"Buffy!" The brunette called out.

"Oh my god, Cordelia!" Buffy greeted back and gave her a hug.

"I missed you so much. How was your vacation?" Buffy asked.

Cordelia sat her book bag down on her desk chair and sat down.

"It was the same as always. I missed you though. What did you do for the summer?"

"Nothing really, I mostly hung out with Xander, Willow, and Tara. We went to Disney Land and so many other places it was cool. I missed you though"

She gave the brunette an enigmatic smile. "I don't recognize anyone else from our class last year."

"Oh well, that's their loss." Cordelia tossed back her long hair.

Angel walked into the glass looking all broody. He really didn't want to come back to this school, with his friends in England, he had no one. He looked for his desk and saw that he was sitting in front of Buffy. Angel let out a groan of displeasure, it wasn't that he didn't like Buffy; he just didn't know how to talk to her. Cordelia looked up and saw the brooding boy come their way.

"Oh look, if it isn't paint boy." Cordelia sneered, Buffy laughed.

Angel just rolled his eyes at the two girls. Everyone started calling him that last year, because of the brunette dropping paint on his pants.

"I think you need to stop. You hurt his feelings." Buffy said in mock sympathy.

Angel just looked at her with soulful eyes and took his seat. The bell had rung and all the students made it to their seats. Buffy looked around and saw Tara sitting near the front. She smiled and waved, the shy blonde waved back.

"Kids settle down. I am your teacher Mr. Giles."

"Good morning Mr. Giles." The class greeted back making him smile.

"Today we are going to do an introduction of sorts. Tell us your name and what you did over vactation, or whatever."

The kids raised their hands one by one, he chose Buffy.

Buffy stood up and faced the class; she really did not like talking in front of people. It made her extremely nervous; she looked at Cordelia who gave her a smile.

"My name is Buffy Summers and I'm five." She held up five fingers for emphasis. "My birthday is January 19th; I spent my vacation with my friends Xander, Willow, and Tara. We went to Disney Land, Magic Mountain and tons of other places. My best friend is Cordelia Chase."

Buffy walked to her desk and sat down. Angel was the next to go, he looked out at Buffy and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm Angel and I just turned six. My vacation was spent in Ireland with my grandmother. I don't have a best friend he moved to England." He said softly and sat down.

Mr. Giles looked at the boy with earnest, he was certainly shy. He picked Cordelia next.

Cordelia stood up and walked in front of the class. Head held high and she smiled at Buffy.

"My name is Cordelia, and I am six. I was on vacation with my parents to the Bahamas. It was fun, but I missed my best friend Buffy." She went back to her desk, and the two girls high fived each other.

The rest of the kids did their introductions, but two girls were not paying attention. Once the introducing was over Mr. Giles went on to teach the days lessons. The bell rang for recess, and all the kids ran out to the playground.

Tara, Cordelia, and Buffy were standing around talking when they were approached by Willow and Xander.

"Hey guys." Willow greeted.

"Hi Willow." They greeted back.

The kids walked over to the monkey bars and started talking.

"Buffy, you want to come stay the night at my house Saturday?" Cordelia asked the blonde.

"Sure let me ask mom. I'm sure she would say that it was okay." Buffy smiled at her.

"Tara and Willow you can come too. Sorry Xander, but its girls only." She teased him.

"That's okay; I have boy things to do." He joked.

The girls rolled their eyes at his antics. He was always the joker.

"Who's in your class?" Tara asked.

Willow and Xander exchanged glances, "We got Drusilla, Harmony, and Anya. She's really obsessed with money. All she talks about is her parent's money." Willow rolled her eyes.

Xander decided to speak up, "At least she isn't teasing and touching you. Girls have cooties." He wrinkled up his nose.

"Boys have icky germs." Willow joked back.

They were laughing and joking when a new person approached them. Immediately they froze up, it was Lindsey a big second grader who liked to pick on Cordelia.

"If it isn't Little Bo Cordy and her sheep." Lindsey teased.

Cordelia stood up to her full height, "Shut up Lindsey at least I have friends. You have no one, you're a big loser." She held up an L to her forehead.

Lindsey pushed her down and got her dress dirty. Everyone on the playground was laughing at her. Before she could do anything, Buffy had balled up her little fist and punched him dead in the nose. He stumbled back and grabbed it, he noticed it was bleeding.

"Leave Cordelia alone! Mess with her again and you have to answer to me." She helped Cordelia up. "Are you okay?" She asked her friend.

She looked up at Buffy with a watery smile, "I'm okay, just a little embarrassed." She joked.

Principle Wood made his way over to the group. "Buffy Summers, come with me please."

Buffy walked away from her friends with her head hanging down. The other kids just looked on in silence. Buffy seemed like a nice girl, but they knew not to mess with her.

The principle led Buffy into his office, where Lindsey was sitting with a bag of ice on his nose. He sneered at her. She just rolled her eyes and sat down.

"Buffy tell me what happened. Lindsey said that you hit him for no reason." He explained.

"No, he came over and pushed Cordelia down messing up her dress. So I punched him." She said, innocently.

"That still gives you no reason to hit someone. I am letting you go with a warning, but stay out of trouble." He smiled at the blonde.

Principle Wood looked over at Lindsey, "As for you young man, you are to write fifty sentences 'I will not hit girls.' I will also be calling your parents."

Lindsey looked down in horror. His parents were very strict, and if he got into any trouble he was in for it.

"Buffy you are free to go. No more hitting." He warned.

"Yes Principle Wood." She said sweetly, and walked out of the door. Buffy couldn't help but laugh.

Cordelia was sitting in class clearly worried. She didn't want Buffy to get into any trouble. Her face brightened when she saw Buffy walk through the door all smiles.

"Buffy I would like to speak to you before lunch." Mr. Giles told the blonde.

"Okay Mr. Giles." She sat down at her desk gloomily.

The class learned about science, and a lot of other subjects. Mr. Giles was a good teacher, but he was a little stuffy. The lunch bell rang and the kids went their cubbies and got their lunch bags, and lined up in a single file line. Mr. Giles instructed them to go to the lunchroom. Angel was the line leader, so he led the class to lunch.

Mr. Giles and Buffy hung back. "Buffy what happened on the playground?" He asked the young girl.

Buffy looked up at him with expressive eyes," Lindsey was picking on Cordelia and he pushed her down. I hit him for it; no one picks on my friends." She said defiantly.

Mr. Giles couldn't help but smile at the young girl. For a five year old she was a little feisty one. He knew he had to keep and eye on her.

"Don't let it happen again." She smiled at her.

She looked at him again, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She gave him a smile.

"Splendid. Let's go have lunch shall we?" He held out his hand to her.

Buffy grabbed it, "We shall." They walked out of the classroom and to the cafeteria. He pointed her to the table and she walked over.

"We saved you a seat." Tara moved down a little ways.

Buffy sat down next to Cordelia. "I'm sorry you got in trouble Buffy." She apologized.

"It's okay. That's what friends are for. So what does everyone have for lunch?"

Tara was the first to answer, "I have peanut butter and jelly, some chips, a pickle, ooh a brownie, and some Sunny Delight." She smiled big.

Cordelia opened up her lunch box, "I have a ham and cheese sandwich, some chips, chocolate chip cookies, and a bottle of Evian." She looked at Buffy.

Buffy opened up her lunch box, "I have a chicken salad sandwich, some Ruffles with ridges, some celery and carrot sticks, a granola bar, and a Capri Sun."

The three girls exchanged smiles, and began eating. Angel looked over at Buffy, but she was too busy with her friends. A blonde haired boy named Riley poked Angel in the side.

"Why do you keep looking at Buffy?" He asked with a goofy grin on his face.

Angel turned back to his food, "I'm trying to figure out what to do to her next. I poured paint on her dress last year." He grinned.

Riley looked at him with a dumb expression, "I wouldn't do that cause Buffy will make your nose bloody."

Angel didn't care, Buffy was just another girl. He liked her, but he was a boy and boys don't like girls, they were icky. He finished eating his lunch.

"Buffy I think Angel likes you." Tara told the blonde.

Cordelia and Buffy both looked at her with looks of disgust. "Eww, in his dreams! I don't like boys they are dumb, and gross." Buffy turned up her little nose.

"Yeah, they stink too. We're better than that. Besides Angel is a freak, he doesn't talk all he does is brood, and he has stupid spiky hair." Cordelia said, snottily.

She didn't like him because he spilt paint on her friends dress. It happened last year, but this is Cordelia we are talking about here.

"I just think he's shy. Besides he only did it because Drusilla told him too. She really didn't like Buffy last year; she called her sunshine and light."

The girls giggled at this, attracting the attention of everyone at the table. Lunch time was over and they headed back to class.

Mr. Giles went through the rest of the lesson fairly quickly, and sent the kids outside again for their final recess (Schools here actually let the kids go to recess twice.) Angel and Riley were the first ones out the door followed by the girls.

Buffy felt a tap on her shoulder as she made her way out the door. She turned around and saw Faith.

"You're Buffy right?" The raven haired girl asked.

Buffy looked at her, "Yeah I am, you're Faith Drusilla's sister." She said none to friendly.

Faith looked down sadly and Buffy felt bad. "I'm sorry, but Drusilla and I don't get along."

"I wanted to say good job at putting Lindsey in his place. He's always picking on us younger kids."

Buffy put her hands up, "You wanna come over and meet my friends? I'm pretty sure that they will like you." Buffy grabbed her hand; this gesture was new to Faith. No one really took the time out to show her any kind of attention. All the attention went to Drusilla.

Cordelia looked around for Buffy and saw her walking over with Faith. She was not happy, Buffy was her friend. Willow looked up then tapped Xander on the shoulder; they looked on as the blonde and brunette walked over.

"This is Faith, yes she is Drusilla's sister, but she's a lot nicer." Buffy introduced the girl.

Faith just stood their quietly, she never talked really. It was overwhelming especially looking at the other brunette.

"I'm Willow, and that's Xander." Willow stood up and introduced herself.

Tara followed everyone else's lead, "I'm Tara." She said softly.

Buffy looked at Cordelia expectantly. "I'm Cordelia, Buffy's best friend." She said mockingly.

Finally the other brunette decided to say something, "I everybody." She waved.

"And she talks." Xander joked, causing the group to laugh. He really needed some male friends.

"I have a jump rope, do you guys wanna play?" The red head asked.

The girls answered yes at once. "Okay Me and Buffy will turn." Cordelia volunteered. Both girls took one end and started turning the rope. Faith jumped in and they started singer 'Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around."

Angel and Drusilla walked over with Darla, and Riley, to where the girls were playing jump rope.

"Well, if it isn't little Faithy playing with the upper class." Drusilla teased.

The girls just went on ignoring them and continued playing. Drusilla was getting upset that she was being ignored.

"I'm talking to you." She gritted out.

Cordelia stopped turning and faced the other girl, "Listen Cruela, we don't have to pay attention to you. Leave Faith alone she's our friend, you're just jealous because she doesn't want to have anything to do with you."

Darla let out a little snicker at this. They may be a grade behind her, but they know how to hold their own. Drusilla gave her a sour look, Darla just started laughing more.

"Leave them alone, Dru. Their just first graders." Darla tried to reason.

Drusilla just walked off leaving the group of kids behind. Darla turned back around to the girls.

"You two are brave. I totally had ya'll underestimated." She turned around and left.

Angel and Riley just stood there watching the girls finish playing their game.

Recess was over and the kids went back to their separate classes. Cordelia was playfully tugging at Buffy's pony tails.

"What are you doing after school?"

"I don't know, dad is supposed to take me out for ice cream. He's been out of town on business a lot." She smiled and sat down in her chair.

"Okay class, settle down. The book I will be reading from is Charlotte's Web. How many of you heard of this story?"

Twenty hands shot up in the air. "That's good to hear." He began to read until the last bell rang for them to be dismissed.

Mr. Giles had them line up in a single file line with the car riders first. Buffy and Cordelia held hands as they made their way to the pick up/drop off part of the school. On their way out Cordelia saw her mom and Buffy's mom talking. It wasn't anything new, since they are the best of friends.

"Hi Girls." Joyce greeted the girls.

"Hi, Ms. Joyce. Hi mom." Cordelia greeted.

"Hello, Buffy how are you today." Victoria Chase asked the little blonde.

Buffy gave her a million dollar smile, even at five she was a charmer, "Hi, Ms. Victoria. Hi mommy." She greeted the two women.

"Bye Cordelia I will see you tomorrow." Buffy gave her friend a hug.

"See ya." She returned the hug and walked off with her mom.

Buffy looked up at her mom like she wanted to say something. She decided against it and got in the car.


	3. Cordelia's Sleep Over

Through The Years 3?

Don't own them, if I did, they would be together all the time.

Buffy and her mother stood in front of Chase Manor, it was Saturday night and Buffy was going to sleep over. Joyce rung the doorbell and Vinceinzo opened the door, and the little blonde hid behind her mother. No matter how many times she had come over, he still scared her.

"Hello, Vinceinzo." Joyce greeted.

"Hello, Mrs. Summers, Buffy?" He greeted the two guests, and ushered them in.

Buffy held on tightly to her mother until she saw Cordelia come down the stairs. The blonde immediately let go of her mother's hand and ran to her friend.

"I'm so glad you're here." Cordelia gave her a hug.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world. Where is everyone else?" She asked.

"They haven't gotten here yet, we are going to have so much fun." The brunette grabbed the blondes hand and they ran up the stairs.

Joyce watched as they disappeared. Victoria Chase came up beside her with a smile.

"When those two are around each other, no one seems to exist but them." She told the elder Summers.

"Tell me about it. My little girl is all grown up."

"Come on let's go get some tea, thanks for bringing her over here."

"No problem."

The two women walked into the kitchen to partake in tea.

Buffy and Cordelia were playing Barbie, Buffy had got a new one and wanted to show her friend.

"Guess what?" The brunette asked her friend.

"What?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Mommy and daddy said you can go with us to Mexico for Spring Break. My mom is going to talk to your mom to see if you can go."

"That would be so cool; I've never been there before."

The girls continued playing until Willow and Tara arrived. They all squealed in delight and began having a night of fun. They painted each other's nails, and did hair, played Barbie's and just did things that kids their age do.

"Angel likes Buffy." Willow teased.

"No he doesn't. I don't like him, he's an icky boy with cooties." Buffy frowned up her nose.

"He told Xander the other day, that's why he picks on you so much." Tara added.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Angel can't like Buffy, he's a boy, besides Buffy likes me don't you?" She asked.

Buffy blushed, "Yeah I do." She smiled at the brunette.

It would be amazing how children can find someone that they have so much in common with. Antonio Chase opened the door to Cordelia's room startling the foursome.

"Sorry, I just wanted to tell my favorite girl and her friends good night." He gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night daddy." Cordelia told the older man.

"Sleep tight princess." He told his daughter and gave Buffy a wink. He closed the door behind him.

"See I told you my daddy likes you." She told Buffy.

The girls busted out in a fit of giggles. "Come on let's see if Rosario can make us some sundaes." Cordelia suggested.

The four girls padded down the stairs and into the kitchen, when they saw Rosario making a fresh batch of pizzas. Cordelia sat down at the counter Buffy sat on one side, Willow sat on the other, and Tara sat on the opposite side of Willow. Rosario turned around and let out a little shriek when she saw four little heads looking at her.

"You children gave me quite a fright. What are you doing down here?" She asked them.

"Can you make us some sundaes please?" Buffy asked.

Rosario smiled at the little blonde. She was very polite, and could warm the hearts of even the coldest person, the complete opposite of Cordelia. There was no way she could deny her anything.

"Eat first, sundaes later, okay wee one?" Rosario gave her a smile, Buffy just blushed.

The cook went about dishing out the pizza to the girls. They dug in with much gusto; she couldn't understand how such little people could eat so much. She was just glad that they were eaters. Buffy was the first one finished and politely asked for some juice. Tara and Willow did the same. Cordelia was the last to finish eating and got some juice also.

"You young'uns must have been hungry." She smiled at the girls.

"Yes, pizza is our favorite too bad our mommies won't let us eat it at school." Tara added.

Once their food was digested Rosario went about making the girls their sundaes and even allowed them to help. Buffy had everything on hers, and Cordelia just had fudge sauce and a cherry. They began to eat until their hearts content, satisfied that they were finally getting some sugar. The sugary confection was consumed in no time at all, each and every one of them were a chocolaty mess. Rosario handed them each a wet nap for them to clean their hands and faces.

Cordelia noticed that her friend missed a spot of ice cream. Without thinking she took her wet nap and wiped the side of Buffy's cheek. They exchanged a secret smile and hopped off of the stools.

"Let's watch a movie upstairs in my room." The four of them ran up the stairs and into Cordelia's room.

Each girl got their sleeping bag situated on the floor, Buffy was closest to Cordelia. Willow was lying near the closet door and Tara was in the middle of the TV and Cordelia and Buffy. Cinderella was playing in the background as four little girls drifted off to sleep. Victoria walked into the room to check on them and smiled as she saw them all asleep. She went and got her camera to capture the moment, but one picture caught her eye. Buffy and Cordelia were snuggled up together in each other's arms. She took the pictures carefully as to not wake them up. Closing the door softly she went back to her room and fell asleep herself.

The next morning dawned bright and early in the Chase house. The terrible foursome was loud and obnoxious. The whole house was awaken by their laughs, and different antics. For six year olds they had a lot of energy. Breakfast was served and baths were taken, they spent most of their time outside until it was time for them to go. Willows mom was the first to come.

"Hi girls, Hi Willow. Did you have fun?" Sheila Rosenberg asked her own daughter.

"Yeah, we did, we had pizza, played games, and even had sundaes." The redhead told her mother.

"Tell your friends bye, and you'll see them at school."

"Bye guys." She shouted and took her mother's hand and left.

Cordelia, Tara, and Buffy went back to playing hopscotch another fun game for kids to play. In the middle of play Buffy doubled over in pain, and began crying. Tara got scared and ran inside and got any available adult. Antonio Chase came out onto the patio at the crying girls request. He knelt down to the small blonde and felt her head, she was burning up.

"Buffy, tell me what's wrong sweetie?" He asked the crying little girl.

"My right side hurts really bad, like someone's hitting me." She cried out.

He picked her up and called for his wife, they rushed to the emergency room leaving a frightened and scared Tara behind. Tara's mom came to pick her up and reassured her that Buffy was going to be okay, and she will take her to see her later. The little brunette looked out her window and started crying for her friend who was in the hospital.

The walk down the hospital corridor was scary if you were little. Cordelia held on to her mother's hand while carrying some flowers and balloons in the other. Her parents explained about Buffy's appendix surgery. It was the first time she had to deal without her friend at school. Victoria knocked on the room door and entered. The brunette looked scared seeing her friend in the bed like that.

"It's okay Cordelia, she's fine. She's just resting come see." Joyce held out her hand, and the young girl took it.

Cordelia stood beside her friend's bed, and looked at her as she slept. Joyce and Victoria left them alone for a little while.

"Hi Buffy, I came to visit you. I know you're asleep and you probably can't here me. I missed you today at school." She sat down in the chair next to her friend's bed.

Buffy began to stir and looked over to her side and saw Cordelia sitting there. She smiled her first real smile since being brought in.

"Hi Cordy, what happened in school today?" Buffy patted the bed beside her for the brunette to climb up.

Taking off her shoes Cordelia climbed up in the bed with her best friend. She gave her a small hug.

"School was okay, everyone made you cards, and Mr. Giles will bring them by later. Angel started brooding when he found out you were in the hospital. Faith told me to tell you to get better. Everyone else missed you, even Darla asked about you." She told her blonde friend.

"Sounds like I missed a lot. I am going to be out of school for about a week. They gave me a cut and then put stitches." She pointed underneath the covers.

"Did it hurt?"

"No, I was asleep. I didn't feel a thing." She smiled.

Cordelia looked at Buffy sadly; she missed her friend a lot. Without her around it seems empty. All she wanted was to have her friend back. Tara and Willow are good friends, but it's not the same without Buffy. She is like her sister, and her partner in crime.

"What's wrong Cordy? You look sad." Buffy asked her friend.

"I miss you that's all. I can't wait for you to get better; it's not the same without you." She told her honestly.

"I miss you too, tell you what, when I get better I'll have mom let you spend a whole week with me. If your mom says it's okay." She gave her friend a big smile.

They hugged again this time a little bit longer. "I love you Buffy." Cordelia said into her hair.

"I love you too Cordy." She said in return.

They continued laughing and talking loudly until Victoria told her daughter it was time to go. They hugged again and she gave Buffy a kiss on her cheek. Both mother's watched this sweet moment. The girls exchange I love you's and Cordelia left, leaving Buffy and her mother alone.


	4. Summertime Blues

Through The Years

Don't own them and never will. I'm just having a spot of fun.

A/N: This is a fiction set around little kids; I'm going to be focusing on their friendship only.

First grade was over and summer was upon them, but for two little girls it wasn't all that fun. Tara moved away after her mother died, and Cordelia and Buffy wouldn't be in the same class next year. It made both girls sad, because they have been friends since kindergarten and it wouldn't be the same.

"It will be okay Cordy, we will still see each other." The blonde tried to reassure the girl.

The brunette just looked at her sadly. They were in Buffy's backyard having a little picnic, just the two of them. Willow was with her grandma, and Xander was away at camp, it was just the two of them.

"I know, but it wouldn't be the same. Who will I switch lunch with sometimes?" She said sadly.

"I know, but we will see each other after school, and during recess. We get to talk about people who aren't fashionably dressed." Buffy teased, pulling on one of Cordelia brown pigtails.

"Hey stop that Goldilocks! I'm going to get you." The brunette got up as did Buffy and they began chasing each other around the backyard. Joyce watched the two girls run amuck and couldn't help but smile at the both of them; she went and got a camera to capture these moments on film. Joyce came outside and the girls stopped running around, and looked at the older woman intruding on their fun.

"Mom, what's wrong?" The young girl approached her mother.

"Nothing sweetie, I just want to get a picture of the two of you together." She smiled, at both girls.

They rolled their eyes at each other, between Cordelia's parents and her mom; they were going to be all pictured out. They decided to pose on the picnic blanket, Buffy was on her stomach hands under her chin, and Cordelia laid her arms across the blondes back and rested her head on them. Both girls gave huge smiles, and Joyce snapped the picture. It was moments like these that Joyce had liked. Both girls got up to resume their play, and Joyce walked back into the house.

Buffy was out of breath and went to get her drink, Cordelia wasn't that far behind. They sat down on the blanket and looked up at the clouds.

"You wanna guess what he clouds look like?" Buffy asked, looking at her partner in crime.

"I don't care, it's better than nothing. So what are you going to do the rest of the summer?"

"Mommy is making me go to Grandma's this year. She and daddy are going on a second honeymoon or something like that." Buffy shrugged her shoulders.

"Mommy and daddy are taking me to Puerto Rico. I can ask my mom if you can go with us." The brunette said excitedly.

Buffy gave her friend a genuine smile, "I like that idea a lot. Hopefully mommy and daddy would go for that."

They continued looking at the clouds and kept guessing at what they looked like. To kids like them, it's little things like looking at clouds were fun. The sun was beginning to set and the girls cleaned up their picnic area. They may be six, but they are still clean six year olds. They folded up the blanket and put it in their basket, and walked into the house. Cordelia's mom was talking to Joyce in the living room and the little brunette frowned. She really didn't want to leave her friend, Victoria looked over at the two girls and couldn't help but smile, and they were wearing similar pouts.

"Cordy sweetie, you've been over here all day, it's time for you to come home." Victoria Chase told her child.

"I don't want to mommy, I wanna stay with Buffy." She protested.

Victoria and Joyce looked at each other and back at the girls; they were at a loss for what to do. Being mothers they also knew that they couldn't give into their child's every want. (I am so guilty of doing that with my daughter.)

Buffy didn't want to see Cordelia leave either, but you had to listen to your parents, even if her friend didn't. A light went off in her little blonde head; she just hoped that her friend would go along with it.

"Cordy, I can come over to your house tomorrow morning, and stay all day like you did today." Buffy suggested.

Cordelia thought about it for a little while, "Okay, we can do that. Is that okay mommy? Can Buffy come spend the day with me tomorrow?" She looked at her mother.

Joyce and Victoria looked at each other, "Sure if it's okay with Joyce." She answered.

Buffy and Cordelia looked up at the other woman with puppy dog eyes. There was no way she could resist those.

"Fine, Buffy you can spend the day with Cordelia, only if your room is cleaned." She winked at the girl.

Buffy said, bye to her friend and her mother, then took off upstairs. She always had to make sure that her room was cleaned, before she could do anything. Sometimes she wished she had a maid like Cordelia does, then she would never have to clean her room.

"Works every time, what time should I bring her over in the morning?" Joyce asked her friend.

"I will say about eight, it will give them time to get dressed. Buffy can have breakfast with us in the morning, if that's okay with you?" Victoria asked her friend.

"That's fine, we will be there. Bye Cordelia, I enjoyed having you over today." Joyce bent down to the little girl.

"I liked being over here too. Tell Buffy I'll see her tomorrow." The brunette replied.

Joyce walked her guests to the door and Hank Summers walked in. He gave Victoria a smile, and a little wink to Cordelia which made her blush, he kissed Joyce on the cheek.

"You are leaving? Buffy let you leave the house?" He joked with the women.

"Buffy, is coming over to my house in the morning. Mommy said so." Cordelia told the man.

A little blonde hurricane came running down the stairs and into her daddies arms.

"Daddy I missed you so much? How was your trip? Did you bring me anything back?" She asked him.

Hank put the girl down, "Of course, but you got to let me get settled first." He smiled at his only child.

Joyce closed the door behind the guests and followed her husband and daughter into the living room. Other than having Cordelia around, she never smiled so much in a day. That's why they keep their problems to themselves or when Buffy isn't around. Hank was sitting on the chair and Buffy was sitting on his lap, he was telling her about his latest trip to Spain. The little girl was so enraptured that she didn't see her mother enter the living room.

"Is it real pretty like in the books?" She asked softly.

"Even better, in fact I brought you another book to add to your collection of places I've been. Plus I got you something else too." He told her.

Buffy bounced up and down in excitement; she loved it when her father would bring her gifts. What she didn't realize that it was bribery gifts for being gone so much. Hank lifted Buffy off his lap and went to go get his bag. He pulled out a book on Spain, and some Euros, and a necklace with her name woven into it.

"Daddy thank you I love it!" She squealed and gave him a hug.

Nothing in the world made him feel better than seeing his daughter happy. He looked over at Joyce who had a deep scowl on her face. They knew that they would have to talk as soon as Buffy goes to bed.

"Sweetie, go take your things upstairs, you can show Cordelia when you go over there tomorrow." Joyce prompted her daughter.

Without hesitation, she ran up the stairs with her treasures, but not before giving her father a million watt smile. When Buffy disappeared that's when Joyce laid it out on the line.

"Why do you bring her stuff from all these different places? Is it because you feel guilty taking your flavor of the month with you?" She said angrily.

"I bring her back things because she is my daughter, and she is fascinated by different countries. I travel, so I bring her stuff back, what's the harm in that? It makes her happy." He said nonchalantly.

"Makes her happy? What would make her happy is if you were here spending time with her. She spends more time with Cordelia's father then she does with you. It's not a bad thing, he loves spending time with her. It should be you taking her to the park, or Chuck E. Cheese, or mini golfing. You're neglecting your own daughter and your wife, for what? So you can go gallivanting across the world with your newest conquest."

Buffy came downstairs, but stopped when she heard her parents arguing. She heard her mom yelling at her daddy, she sat at the top of the stairs scared of what to do.

"I spend time with her, not as much time as Antonio spends with Cordelia, but I do spend time with her. I take her out for ice cream, and when you have gallery business, I take her on business trips with me. If that's not spending time then I don't know what it's called. As far as conquests there aren't any, it's just your paranoia getting the best of you." He yelled, at her back.

The little girl chose that moment to come downstairs, "Mommy, Daddy? Why are you yelling at each other?" She asked softly.

Hank went over to his daughter, "We weren't really yelling, we were having a disagreement." He shot a look over at Joyce.

She just walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. She couldn't listen to the lies he was telling their daughter.

She looked up at her daddy, "A dis-greement? What's that?" She asked.

Hank sat her down on the couch and began to explain what a disagreement was. Buffy was still a little confused, but went a long with it anyway. She loved her daddy very much, he was the next best thing to ice cream for her.

"You understand now?" Hank asked.

Buffy smiled widely at him, "I understand daddy." She gave him a kiss and went to help her mom in the kitchen.

Cordelia was sitting around the table eating dinner with her mom and dad, something was bothering her. She put her fork down which got her parents attention.

"Cordy sweetie, what's wrong?" Antonio asked his daughter.

"How come Buffy's dad is always gone? How come he doesn't do things with her like you do with me?" She asked softly.

"Well, Hank operates his own business, and it requires him to be involved with everything that's going on. If he didn't, the business would go down hill." He explained to his daughter.

"Can you be Buffy's daddy too? It would make her happy, I know it would." She perked up.

Victoria gave her daughter a small smile, "She already has a daddy, but your daddy could be her friend." She answered her daughter.

The brunette picked up her fork and began eating, but then dropped her fork again.

"What's the matter sweetheart?" Victoria asked this time

Cordelia looked up at her mother, "Buffy is going to her grandma's house for the summer, but I wanted to know if she could come to Puerto Rico with us? If it's okay with her parents...please?" She gave her best pout.

Victoria and Antonio couldn't deny their daughter anything, she was their little princess. Having Buffy around has been an absolute joy, and she was good for Cordelia.

"Sure, we can talk it over with her parents. I'm sure they would let her go." Antonio winked at his daughter.

Cordelia began eating again, this time with gusto that wasn't there before. Victoria and her husband held a soft spot for the bubbly blonde. She was a stark difference from their daughter, but they are similar in so many other ways. They have been good for each other, and prayed that they would be friends forever.


	5. Puerto Rico Here We Come

Through the Years

Don't own them, and never will.

Buffy was terrified of flying, she's been on a plane with her father plenty of times, but she was still afraid. Cordelia was holding her friends hand trying to calm her down, but it wasn't working. She had to think of something to cheer her friend up.

"Buffy, guess what? Mommy and daddy said that their going to take us shopping." The brunette told her.

"Shopping really? I love to shop." A smile played on her face.

"I'm glad that your mommy and daddy said that you can come along. I would have been awfully bored without you."

"Tell me about it, I'm glad I came too. Does everyone speak Spanish?" Buffy asked curiously.

Antonio couldn't help but laugh at the little girls questions, sometimes they were too adorable.

"They speak both English and Spanish. While you're here you might even pick up the language." He told the little blonde.

She beamed at him causing him to chuckle. There was something about Buffy that brought a happiness into their lives. The girls continued laughing and talking while the parents took a light nap. They stopped talking when they heard another conversation that piqued their little curiosities.

"I always wanted to join the Mile High Club." A female voice said.

"I do too, but I just don't want to get caught." Another female voice said.

"It won't matter this is a huge plane, no one is going to hear you." The other female voice replied.

"I'll go to the bathroom first; you wait five minutes and then join me. Trust me you'll enjoy yourself." The voice replied.

The female walked by and gave the two girls a brilliant smile, they smiled back. Their little minds going a mile a minute. What's the mile high club, and why were those two women talking about it. Adults were weird to them; they continued talking until they saw the other female get up, this one didn't smile at them, she looked nervous. Buffy and Cordelia turned around to see where she was going, when they saw a hand pull her into the bathroom, they exchanged eww glances and sat back down.

"We don't go to the bathroom together, if there is only one." Buffy queried.

Cordelia laughed, "No we don't silly, it's just something adults do when they get older. I mean when we go out to eat, your mommy and my mommy go to the bathroom together all the time." She smiled.

"Oh, okay." Buffy just nodded her head and pulled out her coloring book and began coloring.

The females came back with huge grins on their faces, and clothes a little wrinkled. Buffy looked up at them and smiled. They smiled back at her, she went back to coloring. The captain came on the loud speaker and told them to buckle up, the plane was landing. The little girls complied and put their coloring books back in their little back packs. Antonio and Victoria woke up also; they couldn't believe they slept all the way there. The plane landed smoothly and they were able to get off the plane.

"Your girls were very well behaved; in fact we didn't hear a peep out of them." The flight attendant complimented them.

Both girls gave her a big smile, and Cordelia's parents gave a polite thank you and ushered the girls off the plane. The two females that sat near them on the plane were in front of them.

"Mom what's the mile high club?" Cordelia asked her mother.

"W-Where did you hear that?" Victoria asked a mixture of surprise and shock in her voice.

"Well, those two women were talking about the mile high club and then they went to the bathroom together." Buffy interjected, pointing to the women in front of them.

The two women were blushing beyond control. They didn't think they were talking that loud. They rushed away from the little family, not wanting to hear the explanation.

"It's how many times you fly. I mean I've flied dozens of times." Antonio tried to explain.

"Daddy, then why did they go to the bathroom together?" Cordelia asked.

Victoria couldn't believe that they were having this conversation in an airport.

"We'll explain when we are in the car. Come along girls we need to get our luggage." Antonio instructed the girls.

Hopefully the sights would take their minds off of the whole conversation they just had. What made him upset was that they would do something like that on a plane that has little kids. They made it to the luggage carousel and waited for their bags, between Buffy and Cordelia there were like ten bags. How much do little girls need?

A town car was waiting for them, and the chauffer ushered the two girls in, while another person put their luggage in the car. It was sunset, so they really couldn't do much right now. The girls were talking excitedly about what they wanted to do. Cordelia wanted to go shopping and Buffy wanted to go to the beach. Victoria had to calm them down, because they were getting overly excited.

"Daddy you didn't answer my question, why did they go to the bathroom together?" Cordelia asked again.

They thought for sure that the conversation was long forgotten. Leave it to kids to remember everything.

"All women go to the bathroom together; they go to powder their noses or just to talk." Victoria answered.

"There was only one bathroom Ms. Victoria, Cordy and I don't even go to the bathroom like that." Buffy told the older woman.

"You know what; I think we should talk about something else. I don't think your parents would approve of us talking to you about this." Antonio piped up.

"You should see our villa; it has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, a playroom just for me, a game room, a dining room, and a pool. It's so cool, you will have fun, I have a nanny there also, just in case mommy and daddy want to go out and do grown up things." Cordelia told her friend.

"I can't wait to see it!" Buffy said excitedly.

"Well you don't have to wait any longer because we're here." He smiled at the blonde.

The windows rolled down and Buffy couldn't believe her little green eyes, it looked like a hotel or something. This place was awfully big, and it looked a little scary to her.

"It's big. I just hope I don't get lost." The blonde stated.

"You won't get lost, I will always help you find the way." Cordelia reassured her friend.

The car came to a complete start and before the doors could open Cordelia was already out the door followed by Buffy. Cordelia rang the doorbell and a tall, nice looking man answered the door.

"Welcome back Miss. Cordelia." The man with a British accent greeted the girl.

"Thank you Rupert, this is my best friend Elizabeth Summers, but we call her Buffy." She introduced her friend.

Rupert looked over at the little blonde girl and noticed her hesitation. He bent down to her level, Buffy stepped back a little. She was real shy around people she doesn't know.

"Hello, Miss Buffy. I'm not going to harm you little one, it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand for her to take.

She put her hand in his and began to shake it, "It's nice to meet you too Rupert." She gave him a smile. Something told her that he wasn't going to cause her no harm.

"Now would you like for me to show you to your rooms?" He asked the two girls.

"Yes." They both answered and began to follow Rupert.

First they stopped in Cordelia's room; it was just as dolled up as her room back in California was. It had a massive white brass canopy bed in the middle, the wallpaper was a pale purple, and the furniture was white with purple knobs and fixtures. To Buffy it was a room fit for a princess. Dolls were in the corners as well as stuffed animals and little knick knacks.

"Wow Cordy, your room is beautiful. It looks like something out of Laura Ashley." Buffy smiled.

"Laura Ashley is so passé." Cordelia told the girl, "Come on let's show you the room you'll be sleeping in."

Buffy followed Rupert and Cordelia to the room across from hers. Rupert opened the door and the two girls walked in. The room was just like Cordelia's except it was done in pink with butterflies. Buffy immediately fell in love with it, and sitting on the bed was a female pig.

"Why is there a female pig on the pillows?" She asked.

"You left Mr. Gordo at home, so mommy had them go out and get a Mrs. Gordo, so you wouldn't be scared."

Buffy went to hug her friend, Rupert had to walk away to keep himself from crying. The sight of those two together reminded him of how close he and his sister were. The bags were placed in Buffy's room and the two girls were left alone.

"So what do you want to do now?" Buffy asked.

"I want to show you the play room, we'll never get bored." Cordelia pulled the girl along.

A few steps later they were in front of another door, this one had the Disney Princesses on it. Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Snow White, and Ariel. Cordelia opened the door and turned on the light. Buffy walked in eyes wide in surprised; there were more toys in here than FAO Schwartz. Barbie's, and castles, games, dolls, everything you could possibly imagine.

"This is one of my favorite rooms here; when I would get lonely I would come in here and play. Now that I have you here, I may not need it as much. Come on let's play."

The girls pulled out Monopoly Jr. and began to play. So far the day didn't turn out to be so bad, but Buffy missed her parents. She wondered what they were doing.

Antonio and Victoria went around the house trying to find the girls, they didn't have to look far. Inside the play room the girls were playing Monopoly and it seemed like Buffy was winning.

"I hate to break up your fun, but a certain little someone needs to call their parents. Plus you need to freshen up because we are going out to dinner tonight." Victoria told the two girls.

Victoria held out her hand for Buffy to take and led her out of the room.

"Are you having fun Buffy?" She asked the blonde.

"Yeah, I am, but I miss mommy and daddy though." She said softly.

"I know you do, if at anytime you want to go home, we'll let you go okay." She reassured the little girl.

"I don't want to go home just yet." She gave the elder woman a smile.

Victoria dialed the familiar number and handed the phone to Buffy. She left to give the girl some privacy.

"Hi mommy... yeah we just got here... uh huh everyone is super nice... no not yet, the sun has already set... We're getting ready to go out to dinner... I will... Where's daddy... Really?... Okay... I love you too." Buffy hung up the phone.

The blonde walked out of what she assumed was the family room and saw Cordelia waiting for her.

"Let's go get changed, we are leaving in a little bit."

The brunette and blonde walked down the hall hand in hand. They had the whole summer together, full of possibilities.

**Ghostwriter- I hope this chapter was interesting for you also.**

**General Mac- Enjoy this chapter even more.**

**Alyson- It wouldn't be natural for them to be happy all the time, a little drama never hurts. Puerto Rico is always fun, I've been there plenty of times visiting family, sadly it's been a year since I've been back there.**

**To anyone else who reviewed I'm sorry I forgot you, keep reading and reviewing.**


	6. Dinner, Dancing and Thunderstorms

Through The Years

Disclaimers in part 1

It didn't take Buffy long to get changed into a nice dress; it was white with pink daisies. She had put her hair up in matching clips, and slipped on her pink sandals. Pink really wasn't her favorite color, but her mom thought it was pretty on her. To make her mom happy she went ahead an got the dress. Buffy opened her door and was met by Cordelia.

"Buffy, you look nice. Like a princess." Cordelia complimented the girl.

"So do you. Come on we don't want to make your parents upset." Buffy stated.

The girls grabbed hands and walked down the steps. Cordelia's parents were talking, but stopped when the two girls made their entrance.

"Well, if it isn't the belle's of the ball. You girls ready to go?" Victoria asked.

They nodded emphatically. She smiled at the two girls and the picture they presented, they looked like a twosome of cuteness, the blonde and the brunette complimented each other well. It seemed like they were more like sisters than friends, and to her that was okay.

"Come on my beautiful girls, we are going to be late." Antonio opened the door and ushered everyone out and into the car.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Cordelia asked, wanting to know.

"We are going to La Playa. It's Buffy's first visit to Puerto Rico and I want her to get a taste of the food. It's nothing like Mexican food, and I'm sure you'll like it." He told Buffy.

"It's okay I can eat anything." She smiled.

Antonio started the car and headed out the gates of the villa. Since it was dark the city of San Juan was lit up with lights, and the people were walking around with no cares in the world. Buffy was excited by it all, the lights and the people; it was way different from Mexico.

The girls were talking softly in the back, when Antonio stopped the car in front of La Playa restaurant. He got out the car and opened the door for his wife, and the valet attendant opened the doors for the girls to get out. Cordelia stepped out and waited for her friend. Buffy thanked the valet guy and walked with her friends parents into the restaurant. The hostess greeted them at the door.

"Bienvenido a La Playa Ristorante. I am Isabelle." The hostess greeted.

"Thank you very much." Antonio replied.

Isabelle sat them at a table and told them that their waiter will be with them in a minute. She handed them their menus, she smiled at the two girls and complemented them on their dresses. She left the table to attend to the other guests waiting to be seated. Buffy looked over her menu as did Cordelia.

"What are you going to get?" Buffy asked her friend.

"I'm going to get the paella. It's very good, and has seafood and chicken and lots of other good stuff. I like it." She smiled.

"I guess I should have that also." She put her menu down and waited for the waiter to come back.

Victoria and Antonio figured out what they wanted and put their menus down also. They were amazed at how the two girls were behaving themselves like little ladies. She was surprised because most kids their age would be moving around and trying to get up, but not her two. She knew they were special.

"So Buffy, how do you like the house?" Antonio asked.

"I like it very much. I especially like my room, it's real beautiful." She responded.

Before anyone had the chance to say anything further the waiter had approached the table. He introduced himself as Miguel and he began telling them of the specials they had. Antonio motioned for his wife to order first.

"I would like the Arroz con Pollo, con biztec, y Coca Cola por favor." Victoria handed Miguel her menu.

He waited for her to order for the girls, but she said that they could order for themselves. Miguel turned to the girls and gave them a smile.

"Quiero Paella, y ensalada de jardin con Italian Dressing and a Coca Cola please." Cordelia requested and handed the guy her menu.

Miguel accepted the proffered menu and looked at Buffy. The blonde was really nervous and didn't know what to say. Cordelia gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, they have been teaching her Spanish. She was afraid that she was going to mess up.

"Quiero Paella, y ensalda de Caesar con Ranch dressing, y Como se dice lemonade?" She asked softly.

Cordelia whispered in her ear, and Buffy smiled, "Limonada por favor." She asked nicely and handed Miguel her menu.

Antonio was the last to order and the waiter left the table to place the orders. He gave Buffy a big smile.

"Buffy that was excellent for a person beginning to learn Spanish. Before you know it you'll be speaking it like a pro. I know your parents would be very proud of you." He complimented the girl.

This caused her to blush a little, "Thank you, very much." She replied.

"So what would you two like to do tomorrow?" Victoria asked the girls.

"We want to go to the beach." Both girls said together and began laughing.

Miguel brought out their drinks and the salads for the girls. Buffy began cutting hers up and adding salt and pepper. She always thought it tasted better with it, both girls began to eat. Stopping to talk in between bites, the salads were done, and Miguel brought out their food.

"Enjoy." He told them and left, but not before gathering the dirty dishes.

Buffy took a bite of her food, and decided she like it. Her mom always told her to taste something first before she decided she didn't like it. To her surprise it was very good.

"How do you like your food Buffy?" Victoria asked the girl.

Buffy chewed her food before replying, "I like it very much, the seafood is very good." She smiled and continued eating.

Cordelia didn't mind that her parents were asking Buffy questions. It was her first time to Puerto Rico and they wanted to make sure that she was enjoying herself. She was glad Buffy was with her because without her it would be boring. Plus the thought of being away from the girl disappointed her greatly. She had just found Buffy and she didn't want to risk losing her. Dinner was finished with conversations here and there; Miguel came back and asked if they wanted dessert. The Chases looked at the girls for confirmation, they gave their brightest smiles and they took that as a yes. So they ordered them some Flan. It was kind of like a cheesecake, but a whole lot richer, and sweeter. The girls would be bouncing off the walls for sure. Antonio looked at his watch and saw that it was nine, it was time for the house band to play live music, and tonight they had a special guest. He was sure the girls would love who it was.

"Welcome to La Playa. We are the house band The Boys of Paradise, and tonight we have a very special guest with us. She hails all the way from the Bronx, not only does she have her own clothing line, multi-platinum albums, and a host of movies under her belt, Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, give a big hand for Jennifer Lopez." He announced.

Buffy and Cordelia got excited as she appeared on stage. They fell in love with her when they saw the movie 'Selena' (I am part Puerto Rican, so this is me shamelessly pimping my heritage. I know Selena isn't Puerto Rican, but we loved her also). They started bouncing up and down in their seats, trying to contain their excitement.

"How are you doing tonight Puerto Rico?" She asked the crowd.

There were a few choruses of good, and excellent.

"Tonight I have been asked to perform, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy performing for you." She smiled and began with 'Jenny from the Block'.

The girls were singing and clapping along with the words. The smiles on their faces were priceless. Cordelia asked her parents if they could move out to the dance floor so they could dance. Victoria gave them a nod of their head and they walked out to the dance floor, they were actually the youngest people out there. It didn't matter to them, they were having fun. J. Lo slowed it down when she did 'No Me Ames' (You Don't Love Me). Marc Anthony joined her onstage. They did the salsa version and the two little girls began to Salsa dance together. This garnered attention from people on the dance floor and J. Lo herself. Once the song was over, and they realized all eyes were on them, they bowed and went back to their table. When they got there, the dessert was already on the table.

"I saw you two out there, and you looked good. Especially you Buffy, are you sure you haven't learned the Salsa before?" Antonio asked the blonde.

"No, I just had a wonderful teacher." She flashed him a brilliant smile.

People kept coming by the table complimenting the tow girls on their dancing. Cordelia was eating up the attention, but Buffy seemed to shy away from the attention. She was still shy and the people were a little overwhelming to her. Dessert was finished and the girls were getting tired. Antonio asked for the check, and Miguel left to get it. J. Lo herself made an appearance at their table, and signed autographs and even posed for pictures with everyone. She wasn't the bitch that everyone said she was. After everything was taken care of the family of four left the restaurant.

The drive back to the villa was made in absolute silence, because the littlest occupants were already asleep. Antonio pulled the car into the driveway and stopped the car jarring the little girls out of their sleep. He apologized and led them into the house followed by Victoria. Cordelia's nanny Winifred helped the girls to bed, and Victoria and Antonio tucked them both in and headed to bed themselves.

"I think the girls really enjoyed themselves tonight." Victoria told her husband, upon entering their bedroom.

"I'm sure they did. Did you see their faces when they saw Jennifer Lopez take the stage? It really made their night. But I noticed that your mind was elsewhere, is there something wrong?" He asked his wife.

Victoria stepped back into the bedroom already in pajamas. She sat down at her vanity and began brushing through her hair.

"I talked to Joyce and she and Hank are getting a divorce. She told me last week, but they haven't told Buffy yet." She said softly.

Antonio made his way over to his wife, "Did she say why?" He took the brush from her hand and began brushing her hair.

"Yeah, he's been having an affair with his secretary. Plus they have been arguing for a long time. They both agreed it's for the best, it wouldn't be right to stay together for the sake of a child. The only thing it would do would hurt Buffy in the long run." She explained.

"Is that why they let Buffy come with us so easily? They are using this summer to separate and finally divorce. I wonder how Buffy is going to take it, she's so young." He replied.

"I don't know, but it's not going to be pretty. I'll tell you that much, I have a feeling that she will be spending a lot of time over at our house." She told him honestly.

Antonio sighed, "I think it's a good thing, she makes Cordelia happy and I enjoy having her around." He replied.

"It's not a bad thing; we just have to show her we love her even more." She took the brush and put it down on the vanity table.

Antonio led his wife over to the bed and they lay down together. The thunder was sounding in a distance and the rain falling against the windows. The couple drifted off to sleep arms around each other.

Buffy was tossing and turning, the thunder and lightning was scary. She woke up scared; she grabbed Mrs. Gordo and headed across the hall to Cordelia's room.

"Cordelia are you awake?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, I am. I was getting ready to come over to your room. You don't like thunderstorms do you?" She questioned.

"No I don't, they scare me." She replied.

The brunette held her covers up allowing Buffy to climb in. The blonde and Mrs. Gordo got in the bed, and the other girl put the covers around them. The thunder clapped again causing Buffy to jump. Cordelia put her arm around the frightened girl and whispered in her ear.

"You don't have to be afraid, I'll protect you." She told the girl. Buffy didn't reply because she was already sound asleep. She fell asleep a little while later after making sure that Buffy was okay.

The morning dawned bright and early; you couldn't tell that it rained at all. Antonio was the first to wake up; he went to go check on the girls. He checked on Buffy first, and began to panic when the little girl wasn't there. He checked his daughter's room to make sure that she was in there. Relief crossed his features when he saw a blonde head and a brunette head poking out from underneath the covers. Closing the door back he headed back to his room and to his wife. She was already awake and gave him a smile.

"I went to go check on the girls and Buffy wasn't in her room." He told his wife.

A sense of panic rose within the elder woman. Antonio saw this, and decided to tell her the rest.

"I found her, she was in Cordelia's room safe and sound." He told her.

Victoria let out a sigh of relief, and smacked him in the arm, "Don't you ever scare me like that. I don't think Joyce would ever forgive me if anything happened to her daughter."

"I couldn't help myself. Buffy must have gone in there last night. They look so cute together." He joked.

The double doors to their room busted open and in ran two little girls. They jumped in the bed causing the two adults to tickle them to death. The two girls screamed Uncle and then they stopped.

"Did you two knuckleheads sleep good last night?" Antonio asked the girls.

They both nodded emphatically. Then giving each other little smiles.

"Well, I'm glad you did. We have a big day planned for you girls, we're going to go to the beach, and sight seeing, if you're good we might even take you girls shopping." Victoria told the girls.

She knew how much the girls love shopping for six year olds they were quite the clothes horses. They also needed to start planning for Cordelia's birthday, she will be seven in July and they wanted to do something special for the girl. After all you only turn seven once.

"Shopping I love shopping don't you Buffy?" The brunette asked the blonde.

"Yep, it's fun. I like getting shoes, mommy always said that I should have a closet devoted to nothing but shoes." She joked.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, Buffy did have an extensive shoe collection, she even had shoes to match with her outfits. She was coordinated, but Buffy took it to the extreme.

"You don't have to wear the same shoes twice." She laughed.

Cordelia dragged her friend out of her parent's bed, they were giving each other goo goo eyes, and to her it was gross.

"Come on Buffy, we can go into the playroom and play. Mommy and daddy are playing kissy face." She smiled.

The blonde followed behind her friend, her parents never really showed affection to each other, unless it was in public.

"Breakfast will be ready shortly, don't go far." Victoria warned.

The two girls turned and looked back at the bed, "We won't." They replied, both wearing mischievous smile. It was time to be the little terrors that they were.

**General Mac- I don't know yet, maybe. If you wait patiently I might just do it.**

**Toniboo- I'm glad that you like the story. It makes me happy to find out that people are enjoying it.**

**Ghostwriter- Another update just for you, it may not be that great, but the further chapter's will get better, because they will be older.**

**Keep the reviews coming, it makes me right faster.**


	7. Beach and Birthday Fun and GoodByes

Through The Years

Cordelia and Buffy were dressed and ready to go by the time her parents came downstairs. They were eating breakfast already, Maya came out of the kitchen with two additional plates.

"Sorry, but the girls got hungry." She apologized to the adults.

"It's fine Maya, we didn't expect to take that long." Antonio smiled and gave her a wink.

The girls were relatively quiet through out breakfast. It alarmed the elder Chases; the girls were never this quiet unless something was wrong. Victoria looked back and forth between the two girls concern on her faces.

"Cordelia, Buffy? Is everything alright?" She asked softly.

They both exchanged glances, "Are you okay? It sounded like you were hurt." The brunette answered softly.

Antonio choked on his juice and Victoria tried to hide her smile. "What do you mean? I'm fine sweetie, what gave you girls that idea?" She asked the girl.

Buffy decided to answer this one, Cordelia looked like she was ready to cry, "Because, we heard you cry out Oh God! And it sounded like something hit the wall. You're not fighting are you?" She said sadly.

Victoria put a comforting hand on top of the blondes, "No sweetie we weren't fighting. I am not hurt, I slipped on the floor." She explained.

They looked at both the girls to see if they bought their story. When they seen Cordelia smile, they knew that everything was okay.

"You two finish eating; we have a busy day for us." Antonio urged the girls.

Buffy and Cordelia finished their food in no time and were ready to go. Maya came out and cleaned up the dishes. Antonio grabbed the keys and led the girls and his wife out of the door.

"First stop sight seeing, and shopping, then we will get some lunch and lounge around on the beach." Victoria told the girls.

They squealed in absolute delight, as Antonio started the car. The first point of interest was Plaza de San Jose. They took in the statues and the different works of arts, to the girls it was boring, but it made their parents happy. They went to many other places of art and history. Buffy knew her mother would love to come see all of this, art was her thing. Cordelia tapped Buffy on the shoulder and the blonde turned around.

"See that boy over there?" She asked her friend.

"Yeah, what about him? He has cooties." Buffy scrunched up her nose.

"He's looking at us." She whispered.

Buffy looked at the boy and stuck out her tongue. The little boy went crying to his mother, Buffy and Cordelia ran to catch up with her parents. Once the sight seeing was over, they took in a little lunch at one of the Cafe's along the walkways in the shopping district.

"Did you enjoy the sights?" Victoria asked the girls.

"It was alright." Buffy answered softly, Cordelia just pushed her food around on her plate.

"I know, why don't we take the girls shopping? I'm sure that would put a smile on their faces." Antonio suggested.

Their little faces perked up at this, "Shopping, that's never a bad thing." Cordelia piped up.

The family of four got up from the table and walked down the sidewalks.

"You have a birthday coming up C.C. what would you like to do?" Her father asked.

The little brunette looked thoughtful for a minute, "I want to have a princess party. Everyone comes dressed up as their favorite Disney princess. I can be Snow White, and Buffy can be Cinderella." Cordelia told her parents.

"Is that all you want?" Her mother asked.

"I want a sleepover with just Buffy. I don't like sharing her." She smiled at her friend.

The little blonde just smiled at her friend. She needed to find a perfect gift for her, she was her best friend and like a sister to her. Maybe she will find it here in Puerto Rico. They went from store to store, trying on clothes and shoes, between the two of them Buffy and Cordelia had twenty pieces of clothing and shoes. Joyce was going to have a fit when she finds out her daughter was spoiled.

Fifty bags later they made it to the car and put the bags in the trunk. Victoria and Antonio were tired, and all they did was watch as their girls tore through the stores. Buffy pulled on Antonio's sleeve when she saw a jewelry store. He bent down to her level; Buffy began whispering in his ear.

"I would be delighted, let's go." He took Buffy by the hand and led her to the jewelry store.

Buffy browsed the selection of bracelets and necklaces, until she came across the one she liked. Antonio called the sales clerk over and pointed to the one Buffy liked.

"This is a very exquisite piece of jewelry for a little girl like you." She told Buffy.

"It's for my best friend. She turns seven next month, and I wanted to get her something special." She beamed.

Antonio just smiled, as Buffy looked at the bracelet.

"You can have it engraved it you want." The sales lady told her.

"I would like that, very much." She said, happily.

"What would you like to put on it?" She questioned the little girl.

Buffy followed her to the other side of the store that contained the engraving machine.

"What would you like it to say?"

"Buffy and Cordelia friends always and forever." She told the lady.

Once the engraving was done, she put it in a box with a pretty little bow. The sales lady placed it in a bag, "Your total is $35.00." She told the blonde.

Buffy pulled out an American Express traveler's check card her mother gave her. She handed it to the lady and waited for her to bring it back.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Buffy asked the man, seeking his approval.

He gave her a smile, "Sweetie she'll love it, especially since it comes from you."

The sales lady brought her card back and handed it to her. Buffy took the card and put in her purse along with her purchase. She grabbed Antonio's hand and they walked out of the store.

"There you two are. Where were you?" Victoria asked her husband.

"We had to take care of a gift for Joyce." He replied, but gave his wife a wink.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to hit the beach." Victoria smiled at the girls.

They squealed in delight, and jumped in the car. First they had to drop their purchases at the house and change into their swimming suits. Buffy and Cordelia got their beach toys and ran to the beach. (They have their own private beach). Antonio and Victoria walked slowly behind the two.

"Your mommy let you get a bikini?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah, she said there is nothing wrong with it. Besides I look nice in it." She replied.

Cordelia rolled her eyes at her friend. The first thing they did was run into the water and play in the waves. Victoria and Antonio put down their beach blanket and watched the girls frolic and play in the water.

"Tag you're it!" Cordelia yelled, and took off running. Buffy was right behind her, "I got you." She cried out. They spent the day playing in the water and building sand castles. What more could a kid ask for.

The sun began to set, and it was time for them to go. By the end of the day the two girls looked like little raisins.

"It's time for little girls to get baths and have some dinner. We're going out tonight, and we want you to be on your best behavior for Nanny." Antonio told the girls.

They looked at him with big smiles, "We will." They said together.

Buffy and Cordelia walked into the house and up the stairs, nanny helped them both into the bathtub and left them to play.

"I had fun today, didn't you?" The brunette asked the blonde.

"Yeah, I did. Why do I have to be Cinderella? What if I wanted to be Sleeping Beauty?" She pouted.

Cordelia blew a handful of bubbles at her friend; Buffy splashed her with some water.

"I want you to be Cinderella, because that's what you are to me. You're my Cinderella." She told the girl.

Buffy blushed, "Does that make you my Prince Charming?" She grinned.

"No, I'm your Snow White, we're friends forever."

Nanny came in to wash them up, and washed their hair. She got them out and they got dressed in their pajamas and ran downstairs to dinner. Maya placed two plates with chicken, asparagus spears, and some potatoes. They began eating in earnest, playing at the beach really worked up an appetite. Once dinner was done, they ran upstairs to Cordelia's play room and began playing with Lego's and other assorted toys. Antonio and Victoria came into the room to wish them good night.

"We are going out for a little while. We expect both of you to be on your best behavior for Nanny." Antonio told the girls, he gave them both kisses on their heads.

"Have fun you two and stay out of trouble." Victoria admonished, knowing that those two together equaled double trouble.

The parents walked out of the room leaving the kids to their own devices. Playing became fun until they grew tired. The duo straightened up the room and went into Buffy's. They picked out a movie and lay on her bed side by side, before the movie went off sleep finally claimed the two. That's the way the Chases found the two girls when they came home, wrapped together and sleep. Antonio picked up Cordelia and took her to her room, while Victoria tucked the blonde girl in. She gave her a kiss on the cheek, and turned on the night light. She walked over to Cordelia's room and did the same.

"Those two are something else." Victoria commented.

"That they are." Antonio replied.

They arrived back in Sunnydale two weeks before Cordelia's seventh birthday. All was not good at the Summers house, Hank finally moved out, leaving behind a sad Buffy behind. Joyce threw herself into her gallery leaving poor Buffy alone. She spent more time at the Chase home than she did at her own house. Not that the Chases minded, they loved Buffy just like their own. They were always delighted to have the little blonde over.

Cordelia's party arrived fast, and the girls were excited. Cordelia was Snow White, and Buffy was indeed Cinderella, Willow was Ariel, Faith was Belle, and the new girl Harmony was Sleeping beauty. The boys were dressed as Prince Charming's, and other princes. The party was fun, they played games, and then it was time for cake and ice cream. All the kids joined in singing Happy Birthday to the girl, and Cordelia blew out her candles.

"What did you wish for?" Buffy asked her friend.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true." Cordelia replied.

Victoria removed the cake from the table and let the little girl open her presents. Cordelia received Barbie's, some make up, clothes, money, and other little trinkets that girls her age loved. Antonio brought Buffy her gift for her friend.

"Cordelia you have one more present. We saved the best for last." Victoria announced.

Buffy handed the box to her friend, "This is for you, Happy Birthday Cordelia. I love you." She smiled.

Cordelia took her time in opening the box; it was wrapped so pretty that she didn't want to mess it up. Finally she got to the box and opened it; she let out a little gasp. Inside was a silver bracelet with a heart dangling from the chain. The brunette read what it said.

"Buffy and Cordelia, Friends Always and Forever." She smiled. All the girls' oohh'd and awed over the piece of jewelry. Suddenly everyone else's gift seemed worthless.

"Thank you Buffy. I love you too." She gave her a big hug.

The party was winding down, and everyone had gone home except for Willow, she wanted to stay and play for a while.

"That's a pretty bracelet. How did you pick it out?" Willow asked the blonde.

"I just picked it out. Then I have them grave it with words." She replied.

Cordelia came back into the room costume removed and in regular clothes. She sat down next to Willow and Buffy.

"Thank you for the Barbie I didn't have the Amethyst one." She told the red head.

"It was nothing. Why did you have to invite Harmony, she is such a snob." Willow asked.

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Mommy thought it would be nice for me to have more friends. I only need one blonde friend and she's right here." Cordelia pointed at Buffy.

Buffy just smiled at her friends, "I'm going to LA to live my daddy. Mommy is busy with the gallery and she's not really there. So they came up with a compromise, but I will be back on holidays and on the weekends." She told them sadly.

"You can't go, I will miss you." Cordelia whined.

"Yeah, who else is going to pick on Angel with us?" Willow joined in.

"It's not like I'm leaving tomorrow, I'm leaving the weekend before school starts. They already registered me at my new school." Buffy told her friends.

Cordelia got up and ran out of the room, tears running down her face. Willow tried to follow, but her mom had come to pick her up. The red head went crying to her mom.

"Willow, what's the matter?" Sheila Rosenberg asked her only daughter.

"Buffy's moving to LA with her daddy." She sobbed out.

Victoria came out into the living room and saw the little girl crying. Immediately she knew that Buffy told them the news. Antonio went to find Cordelia; he had a feeling that she would take it the hardest.

"I'm sure you'll see her on week-ends and holidays. It's not forever; you never know she could come back before you know it." Willows mom tried to reassure her.

"It will be alright Willow; you still have a week before she leaves. You can spend all the time you want with her before she leaves." Victoria tried to reassure the girl.

This quieted the little girl for a minute, "Tell Cordelia I'll see her later, thanks for inviting me." She said softly.

Victoria led the girl and her mother to the door. Once they were gone, she leaned up against the door and allowed the tears to fall. Buffy had become a part of their family from the time Cordelia and her met. She was the second daughter that they wanted, because she couldn't have anymore. Now she was leaving, they tried to interject plenty of times telling both Joyce and Hank that when Joyce went away on business they would be happy to keep the girl. Unfortunately that idea fell on deaf ears; she went upstairs to talk to Buffy.

Antonio found Cordelia sitting in the garden and he approached her. She looked up at her dad with tear stained cheeks, and puffy red eyes. He held his arms opened for her and she ran into them. She began to cry again.

"It's okay sweetie, you'll see her again." He tried to sooth her.

"No daddy, it's not fair! Why is he going to take her away? Can't we keep her? You and mommy can be her mommy and daddy too." She said wearily.

"It's not that easy sweetheart. She has a daddy that loves her very much, and he wants to be a part of her life. You can see her on weekends; you can even go up there and visit her. You just let us know and we'll take you. We will all miss her, she's the one that made you laugh and smile again." He whispered in her hair.

"Thanks daddy." She said softly.

"Now come on, let's find your sister. It's your birthday; you're supposed to have fun." He told her.

Together hand and hand they walked back towards their house. Cordelia ran up the stairs looking for her friend, but couldn't find her, until she ran back downstairs and saw her mom and Buffy in the living room laughing and watching TV. She decided to come and join them. The movie was over and Victoria left the girls alone, to talk or do whatever.

The week moved by at a fast pace, before you knew it the weekend was here and it was time for Buffy to leave. It was a very teary eyed farewell, but the ones affected the most of all was the blonde and the brunette. They hung on to each other for dear life, until they were pried apart.

"Buffy has to go sweetie." Victoria tried to get her daughter to let go.

"I don't want you to go Buffy. You're my best friend." She cried.

"I don't want to go either; I'll see you next week-end I promise." She said tearfully.

The parents had to physically restrain them; Hank led his daughter to the car and put her in. Antonio held tightly to Cordelia, she stepped on his foot and she went running towards the car, but was stopped by Joyce.

"Buffy please come back! I'll miss you please come back." She cried and fell to her knees. Joyce was holding on to the girl, the tears running down her face. She hoped that she made the right decision of sending Buffy with her father.

Buffy turned around when the house and everyone else was out of sight; it was then that she let out her frustrations. Hank looked at her sympathetically, and tried to comfort the distraught girl. Nothing worked, until Buffy finally cried herself to sleep.


	8. We Meet Again

Through The Years

Buffy drove down the familiar road that had been home to her so many years ago. She had finally graduated high school and would be attending the University of Sunnydale along with her friends. As promised they kept in touch and Buffy came home on week-ends and holidays. She missed everyone, but the person she missed most was Cordelia, when they were ten, Cordelia and her family moved to the East Coast. They still kept in touch but not as much. Coming to her mother's house Buffy noticed a lot of cars in the driveway. Pulling her car behind her mother's jeep, she stopped the car and got out. No lights were on; she walked up to the door and unlocked it with her key. She flipped on the lights and everyone jumped out and yelled, 'Surprise!' Buffy nearly had a heart attack, until she saw the 'Welcome Home' banner going across the living room.

Willow was the first one to hug her, "Welcome home Buff, we missed you." She whispered to her friend.

The blonde was surprised; her shy friend has turned into a more confident social butterfly. Xander came up next and gave her a big bear hug, "We missed you Buff!" He told her sincerely.

"Oxygen becoming an issue here." She told her friend. Xander let her go, and she was hugged by her mother.

"I'm so glad you're home, the house was empty without you." She told her daughter.

Her step father Rupert Giles came up to hug her next, even though he's seen her every now and again, he loved her just like she was his own.

"Welcome home Buffy." He whispered in her ear.

"Thanks Giles." She told him affectionately.

Once everyone got their hugs in and Buffy got settled dinner was had, but Buffy wasn't all that happy, her best friend wasn't there. It broke her heart a little knowing that her friend wasn't going to be there. She put a fake smile on her face and listened as her friends indulged her with their life stories. She's honestly missed a big portion of their lives, but hopefully could make up for it. Buffy was telling them about how she won Prom Queen when the doorbell rung. Giles was about to go get it, but Joyce gave a simple shake of her head and he sat back down. The blonde got up and opened the door, standing there was her long time friend.

"Well, are you going to just stand there with your mouth open or are you going to let me in?" She said

Buffy let her friend in and they immediately hugged. They haven't seen each other in over three years, built up emotions were starting to pour out. They finally let each other go, but never let their hands drop. It was a familiarity for them, something that brought them comfort. Cordelia joined the party, once it stared to wind down, everyone left with promises of hanging out tomorrow. The only ones left were Buffy and Cordelia.

"I missed you so much you know. When I came home and you weren't here, it was like, I can't explain it." Buffy tried to tell her friend.

"I missed you more, I wanted so much to come home, but with school and all it wouldn't permit me. I thought about you everyday, and when you stopped writing, I thought I lost you." Cordelia told the other girl.

"Well, I'm here now. Tell me everything, that's happened to you. I mean are you seeing anyone special? What school are you attending? How are mom and dad? I have so many questions I don't know where to begin." Buffy babbled out.

"Let's start with your first question. There was someone special, but he couldn't compare to the person who captured my heart. We separated and now he's engaged to be married to Darla." She told her.

Realization finally hit Buffy, "You and Angel dated? How was that possible he lived here in Sunnydale?" She questioned.

"A few years later he his family moved to New York and we attended the same school. We started dating in High School, then we separated and now he's with Darla. It was for the best anyway, our relationship wasn't anything, but sex anyways. As for school, I will be attending USD right along with you, Xander, and Willow. Mom and dad will be here tomorrow. They can't wait to see you, they missed you so much, mom would talk to your mom and she would tell her all about your accomplishments. So tell me about yourself Miss Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, captain of the cheerleader squad." She asked her friend.

"There really isn't much to say, I dated this guy named William, but everyone called him Spike. I'm pretty sure you would remember him if you saw him. He came back from England and boy was he hot. Anyways we dated, for a few years, but then we broke up, because his darling Dru came back to him. There hasn't been anyone since him, sure I've dated, but that was pretty much the extent of it." She said softly.

Buffy looked down at their clasped hands, and noticed the bracelet she gave Cordelia for her birthday.

"You still have it?" Buffy asked her friend.

The brunette looked down at her arm, "Yeah, I do. I had extra links put in, so I could wear it. I looked at it and it reminded me of you. Daddy told me how he went with you to the jewelers in Puerto Rico, and you picked it out. It was the best present ever, not that the other ones aren't as great, but this one was special." She told the girl.

They spent the rest of the night talking, until they fell into an exhaustive sleep. Joyce came downstairs and saw the picture before her, one that she's seen many times before. They were both stretched out on the couch Buffy in the front and Cordelia in the back. She pulled a blanket over them, and then searched for a camera. Once she located it, she took off the flash and snapped the picture, she had a picture of then, and she had a picture for now. She quietly walked up the stairs leaving the two girls alone.

Buffy was the first one to take up, and she noticed that she was covered, and that someone was behind her. Coming out of her fog, she realized that it was Cordelia, everything came back to her. She smiled and got up off the couch, not wanting to wake her friend. First stop for her was the bathroom, and then the kitchen; she smelled breakfast cooking and decided to see who it was. Living with her dad, she was used to having Angela cook all of the meals. Walking into the kitchen she saw her mom and Giles cooking together. It reminded her of the times her dad and mom would cook together in the kitchen.

"Good morning mom and Giles." She greeted the couple.

They both turned around startled, "Good morning sweetheart. How did you sleep?" Joyce asked her daughter.

"I slept well, considering the couch is not a good place to sleep. No matter how comfortable I thought it was when I was little." She joked.

"We didn't mean to wake you Buffy, but we wanted to have breakfast ready for you and Cordelia. Coffee?" Giles asked.

The blonde gave him a small smile, "Sure, no Coffee Buffy is a cranky Buffy."

"And we so don't want to have to deal with that." Cordelia's voice broke the silence.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at her friend, and she did it in turn. "Mom, Buffy stuck her tongue out at me." Cordelia whined.

"Uh uh, you stuck yours out at me first." She told her mom.

Joyce just rolled her eyes, something's never change. "Were they always like this?" Giles asked the elder Summers.

"They were a whole lot worse growing up." She smiled.

"Hey! I resent that!" The two girls said at the same time, and began laughing.

Joyce and Giles took the plates into the dining room, "Come on you two, breakfast is ready." She told the two.

Breakfast was made with conversations, bits and pieces were told about the girls lives. Joyce realized that she missed this. She missed having her daughter and her friends around. She agonized many of times to bring Buffy home, but she seemed genuinely happy. Her dad was a real staple in her life; he and his wife attended everything that Buffy did. Whether it was school related or anything else, he was there when she couldn't be.

"Cordelia how is Elizabeth?" Joyce asked.

The brunettes stopped eating mid chew, "Lisa is fine mom, getting bigger everyday. She'll be here in a little bit. I wanted to spend a little time with her before school actually starts." She told Joyce

Buffy looked confused, who was Elizabeth; she filed that bit of information away for a rainy day.

"I can't wait to see her, is she staying with your parents?" She questioned.

Buffy pushed her plate aside, "Yes, they are bringing her down with them." She replied in a voice that clearly mean drop it.

"I am out of the loop here, but who is Elizabeth? Is she your little sister Cordelia?" Buffy asked her friend.

"No, Buffy Elizabeth is not my sister, she's my daughter, and she's two." She told her friend.

"Cool." Was all Buffy could say, she was hurt that no one told her that Cordelia had a child. That was huge news, and she wanted to be there for her.

"Buffy have you picked your major yet?" Giles asked, breaking the tension that seemed to form.

_'Thank God for Giles.'_ Buffy thought, "Yeah, I'm majoring in child psychology, my minor is art history. Daddy wanted me to take business and work at his firm, but I told him that's not my thing. He totally understood, he just wanted to groom me, you know because if anything was to happen to him I inherit it all." She gave a smile.

"What about you Cordelia? Have you chosen your major?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, I have Early Childhood Development. I love kids, and it gives me a chance to work closely with Lisa." She replied.

Breakfast was finished and Buffy and Cordelia volunteered to do the dishes. It gave them some time to actually talk some more. Buffy was rinsing and Cordelia was putting them in the dishwasher.

"How come no one told me that you had a daughter?" She asked her friend.

The brunette put the plate back in the sink, and faced her friend, "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. I had everything good going for me, until I got pregnant." She said honestly.

Buffy put her hand up to Cordelia's face and tilted it up, "I could never be disappointed in you. I love you too much for that." She told her softly.

_'I love you too Buffy, you just don't know how much.'_ Cordelia thought. "I know it's stupid, once you meet her you can't help but to fall in love with her. Remember how we used to talk about having kids? You said you wanted five of them, is that still the case?" She asked her friend.

Buffy put the last dish in the dishwasher, "I may not want five but I at least want two, a boy and a girl or maybe two girls, the possibilities are endless." She replied. "What time are your parents arriving, I can't wait to see them. It's been so long." Buffy decided to change the subject.

"Their plane lands at eleven, but I have to be at the airport at about 10:30. You want to come with?" Cordelia asked.

"Well duh, I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean after all they are my surrogate parents." She told her matter of factly.

"Okay, Cinderella whatever you say." She teased.

"I'm not Cinderella, Snow White." Buffy called back as she headed up the stairs to shower and change.

All of Cordelia stuff was still at Chase Manor; they needed to stop there before they headed to the airport. She couldn't believe at how gorgeous Buffy turned out to be. Everyone knew that she was a beautiful little girl, but had no idea that she was going to be a knock out. She couldn't stop thinking about the blonde who turned her life upside down. When her parents moved them to the East Coast she hoped that any feelings she had towards the blonde would disappear, but it didn't happen when five years later, she saw her at her grandmother's funeral. Now here she was back in her life, hopefully for good.

Buffy was in the shower and she thought about everything she found out. Cordelia had a baby, with Angel to be exact. They used to down each other's throats in school, opposites attracted she guess. Being near her child hood friend again sparked all of these emotions within her. She tried to suppress the feelings, but the connection is still there clear as ever. She didn't know what it meant; of course she loves her friend deeply. It was her who taught her the true meaning of friendship and love. The last time they seen each other was at Cordelia's grandmother's funeral, they spent the whole time talking and they shared a sweet, but chaste kiss. That was something she didn't ever want to forget. Turning off the water, she got out of the shower and walked to her room. Luckily Giles was no where to be found.

Cordelia was still lost in thought when Joyce came and sat down beside her.

"Deep thoughts?" She asked her second daughter.

"Deep and meaningful, I feel so stupid for keeping Lisa away from Buffy. I just thought that she would be disappointed in me, you know, but it was the direct opposite." She sighed.

"That's Buffy, full of surprises, but it goes deeper than that doesn't it. You love my daughter don't you, and I'm not talking about in the sisterly way either. I see the way you look at her, you look at her like Rupert looks at me, or how I used to look at Hank." She told the girl.

"Are you a mind reader or something? I do love her, I don't know when or how it happened it just did. God, pathetic much? Somehow I knew in my heart of hearts that she is the one. I just wish I knew how she felt about me."

Buffy walked down the steps and caught the end of the conversation. Cordelia was in love with someone that was not her. The thought was running rampant through her head, putting that away, she walked down the steps.

Joyce got up and went to her daughter, "You look lovely honey. Make sure your parent's come by and see me now." Joyce called back, as she was walking up the stairs.

"Where are your clothes?" Buffy asked.

"They are at home; I was going to run by there before I went to the airport. I need to leave now, if we are going to make it on time." Cordelia stood up and walked to the door.

Buffy followed behind her, she just had to grab her purse. "How did your parents react when they found out you were pregnant?" She asked.

"Mom was in a state of denial, and dad didn't want to believe it, but they stood by me. I'm grateful for that." She shrugged.

Cordelia turned the car down her street, and pulled up to the house.

"It still looks the same. How come mom and dad didn't sell it when you moved?" Buff wondered.

"It would make a great summer house." Cordelia replied as she opened the door. Immediately they were met with Vincienzo.

"My word, if it isn't Miss Buffy. You've grown up mighty fine, wait until Amelia sees you." He gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you to Vinny." She used his nickname.

Amelia the cook walked in and nearly had a heart attack, "Miss Buff is that you? My wee one, you've grown up." She gave the girl a hug. "We've missed ya much; you have to tell me everything." She dragged Buffy to the kitchen.

Cordelia was already upstairs showered and now she was getting dressed. She didn't understand why she was on pins and needles around Buffy. They've been friends since forever, this was no different. She just needed to keep everything together, and reveal how she feels a little later. Right now she was content with being friends, and she wanted Buffy to really like her daughter. She was dressed and ready to go; she had less than thirty minutes to get to the airport.

Buffy was already standing in the hallway talking to Vincienzo. Buffy told him politely that she would talk to him later. Cordelia practically dragged her out the door.


	9. Meet the Parents and the Daughter

Through The Years

Don't own them, never will so stop thinking it.

The drive to the airport was peaceful at best; they talked about what's been going on in their lives. Cordelia told Buffy more about her daughter, and how much she means to her. She also told her, that the little girl knew all about her and that she was named for Buffy. The blonde just smiled while the brunette talked. She pulled the car into the airport parking lot with fifteen minutes to spare.

"See Cordy, if it didn't take you fifty years to get ready, we would have been here by now." Buffy teased.

"Oh please, like you don't take forever in the bathroom." She shot back.

They walked into the Sunnydale International Airport, and walked to Gate 10. Buffy took a seat next to her friend.

"You don't know how much I missed you. I thought about you all the time, daddy was going to fly me out to NY to see you, but something's came up. Remember that sleepover we had, and Harmony was the first one to go to sleep. We put her hand in warm water, and she peed on herself?" Buffy asked trying not to laugh.

"I remember that, she screamed so loud that it almost woke the neighborhood. She vowed to get back at us. Fun was had by all." The brunette replied.

Cordelia looked thoughtful for a minute; she was debating on whether to ask Buffy if she wanted to go out with her. Not in a date type way, but as friends for old time's sake.

"I see the steam coming out of your head. Whatcha thinking about?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing really, I was wondering if you would like to go out with me? Not on a date, but an outing. I really want to re-connect with you; I kind of missed us a lot." She said honestly.

Buffy's heart was racing, her best friend asked her out. Of course it was to re-gain what they had lost, even though it wasn't that much. She actually liked that thought, it's been forever since they actually had time to themselves, maybe she'll find out who this mystery person is.

"I would like that, just name the time. Is Lisa going to stay here with you? I mean since you are in Sunnydale now?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan. My schedule will be pretty flexible at best, unlike you Miss. Child Psychology, we'll never see you." She lightly tapped her friend on her arm.

Before the blonde could reply a voice came over the intercom, "Flight 101 from New York to Sunnydale has now arrived. Buffy and Cordelia walked towards the door, one of them was nervous, and it wasn't the brunette. Buffy hasn't seen her surrogate parents in three years, and now she was meeting her best friend's daughter. She wondered how the little girl would take to her. Buffy didn't have to wait long, because a little girl with long brown brunette ponytails came running out of the door, followed behind by her grandparents.

Victoria and Antonio walked out of the terminal and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Buffy standing there. They embraced her in a tight hug, but Buffy didn't mind, she missed them as much as they missed her.

"Oh my goodness! Look at you; you have grown up to be a beauty. Then again I always knew that." Victoria commented on the blonde she considered her daughter.

"Victoria stop, you're causing her to blush. Look at you the last time we saw you, you were just a short little thing; now look at you all grown up. Your mom kept us up to date on everything in your life, we are so proud of you." Antonio told the girl.

"I missed you so much, you just don't know how much." She replied.

Cordelia was standing off to the side while her parents spoke with Buffy. It was good to have all of her family here.

"Buffy, I have someone I would like you to meet. This is my daughter Elizabeth." She introduced the little girl.

The little girl looked at her intently, before she wrapped her arms around Buffy's knees. Buffy bent down to the little girl's level, and couldn't believe how much she looked like her mother.

"Well Elizabeth, I'm Buffy a very good friend to your mother." She told the girl.

"Buf-fy." The little girl repeated.

Everyone smiled at the way the blonde was able to get along with the little girl. Victoria and Antonio looked between the three of them; it was kind of like stepping back in time.

"We need to get our luggage, and then we are going to have lunch." Victoria suggested.

"I don't think I can, I have a few things to take care of. Cordelia if you could drop me by the house." Buffy replied.

The brunette looked at Buffy confused, her mood just changed completely. She wondered what was wrong with the other girl.

"Buffy, we would love for you to join us. It's been a while, we missed you kid." Antonio spoke up.

"It sounds nice and all, but I really need to get back to mom. She's feeling bad, you know for sending her daughter away." It wasn't a complete lie; her mom did feel guilt for sending her only child away.

The group made it to the luggage carousel and grabbed various bags and Elizabeth's car seat.

"Maybe we can get together tomorrow, for dinner. We could invite your mom and Rupert; it would give us time to catch up." Victoria suggested.

"That would be good; I know mom would love to see you again." Buffy replied.

They walked out to the car, and Cordelia buckled her daughter in and everyone got in. Cordelia didn't know what had changed between arriving at the airport and now. She hoped that it didn't have anything to do with her daughter. If it did, she would be distraught beyond the telling of it.

"Buffy, what are you majoring in?" Antonio asked.

"Child Psychology, I like working with kids." She replied softly.

Victoria knew something was wrong with the blonde, she was uncharacteristically quiet, and usually she was full of conversation. And she knew without a doubt that she wasn't shy anymore. The silence was filled with Elizabeth's quiet babbling, she was talking about the plane, it wasn't hard to decipher baby talk. Cordelia pulled the car in front of the Summers house. Buffy got out of the car, but not rudely.

"It was good seeing you again, and we will get together for dinner tomorrow." Buffy told her parents.

They each said their good byes, "Do you want me to walk you up?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy looked at her childhood friend, "No, I will be okay. We'll talk later." She closed the door and ran up to the door and opened it.

"Is Buffy alright sweetie?" Victoria asked.

Cordelia pulled off, "Yeah, she's just being Buffy." She smiled.

"Now, that you are back in Sunnydale, maybe you two could become as close as you were when you were younger. It would be good not only for you, but for Elizabeth also." Her father replied.

"We'll see." She replied. She couldn't help but wonder about Buffy, did seeing Elizabeth freak her out, or was it something more. She made a mental note to call her later, they needed to talk.

Buffy walked into the house, and Joyce was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hello, Buffy. Did Antonio and Victoria get in alright?" She asked her daughter.

The blonde flopped down on the couch next to her mother. A look of defeat on her face. The elder Summers woman knew something was wrong with her daughter, but wasn't going to push. When Buffy was ready to talk, she would.

"They got in fine; I also met Elizabeth, cute kid. She looks just like her mother, guaranteed to be a heartbreaker when she gets older. Oh yeah before I forget, mom and dad invited us to dinner tomorrow night at Chase Manor. She said it will give us time to catch up. Did daddy call?" She asked her mother.

"Yes he did, we managed to have a civil conversation. He wanted me to tell you that Angelina had her baby, you have a little sister. They named her Dawn; he really wished that you were there to welcome her into the world." Joyce replied.

Buffy seemed to perk up at this news, "She had the baby? I miss everything." She pouted.

"It's okay, he expects you to visit this week-end. He wants to spend time with both his girls." She said wistfully.

"Mom, can we talk? I mean really talk?" Buffy asked her mother.

Joyce muted the TV, "Of course we can sweetheart, what's bothering you?" She asked.

"Okay, It's been a long time since I seen a friend of mine. The connection we had is still there, but now feelings are starting to change between us. I just realized that I was technically in love with her. I really don't know how it happened, but it just did, it's confusing because I like guys. I really like guys, now there is a child that could make things even ore complicated. I really don't know what to do." She took a sharp intake of breath.

Joyce hid her secret smile from her daughter, "This wouldn't have to do with Cordelia would it?" She smiled.

"Mom, how do you know this?" She asked her mom.

"Call it mother's intuition. It was obvious from day one, how you felt about her. Don't let the child complicate anything. If you can't accept the child, then it's useless. If you really like guys continue dating them, these feelings you have may be a fleeting thing. Do that and see how you feel then." Joyce advised her daughter.

"You know what mom, you're right; I'm going to date the guys. These feelings are probably just a passing thing. We can still be friends whether she has a daughter or not." She stood up and kissed her mother on the cheek.

Joyce watched as her daughter walked away, reverse psychology works every time. Buffy walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She cared for Cordelia, hell she even loved Cordelia, but she didn't know if it was sisterly or not. They are different people now, Cordy had a daughter, and they were going to college. She lay down on the bed and went to sleep, her mind racing with endless questions.

_Flashback_

_Cordelia and Buffy were in the garden away from everyone else. The brunette was upset because of her grandmother, and didn't want to be bothered._

_"I just miss her so much; she was the only grandmother I had." Cordelia sobbed out._

_Buffy just held her friend as she cried. She felt upset because her friend was hurting a lot, only if there was a way to make her feel better._

_"Remember that time, I was ten and we climbed that big tree over there?" She pointed to the big Willow tree in the other side of the garden._

_"Yeah, I remember. You were trying to be a gymnast or something you fell and broke your arm, but you didn't cry. I thought you were so brave and strong." She laughed._

_"But you were there to make me feel better. The summer didn't suck after all, I had my best friend with me." She smiled._

_"Buffy, I'm so glad that I have you. Can you promise me something?" Cordelia asked._

_"You know you can." She replied._

_"When we get older, and we go our separate ways; will you still be my Cinderella?"_

_Buffy let out a little laugh at this, it's been an ongoing thing between them since they were younger. No one else really got it except for them, the mind of children._

_"I will always be your Cinderella, and you will always be my Snow White, friends forever and always. Come on, I know your parents are worried sick." Buffy got up and pulled Cordelia with her._

_"I love you Buffy."_

_"I love you too Cordy."_

_They walked back towards the house, but not before the brunette stopped them. Without any words she leaned in and kissed Buffy on the lips. The blonde responded in kind, but it stopped when the need to breathe became apparent. Cordelia walked off leaving a confused Buffy behind._

_End Flashback_

Cordelia was playing with Elizabeth on the floor when Victoria entered the living room. She surveyed the scene and couldn't help but smile, she thought about the time when Cordelia and Buffy would lay on the floor, and watch movies together or pretend to be dancers.

"Cordy, was something wrong with Buffy today?" She asked her daughter.

She looked up from playing with her daughter, "Not that I know of, she was her usual self." She responded.

Elizabeth started laughing and babbling happy, "Buf-fy" This caused the Chase women to smile.

"I was just wondering she usually isn't quiet. Are you going to see her tonight?" She asked her daughter.

"Everyone is going to the Bronze tonight, but I don't know if I'll be able to go. You know the big responsibility and all." She pointed to her daughter.

"Why don't you let us watch her? You deserve some time out, especially with your friends." She urged her daughter.

"Mom, I can't do that. When you go back to New York, it'll be hard to actually have a life, go to school, and study. I think she's more important right now." Cordelia explained.

Victoria sighed; this was going to be a battle that she was determined to win.

"We were planning on moving back here anyway. Sunnydale is a lot better place to raise a child, than NY. Think about it, you'll have Buffy back in your life. If I recall correctly, you two were forever, Cinderella and Snow White." She smiled. "Go have fun at least for a little while. You deserve it." She picked up Elizabeth and walked out of the room.

Cordelia knew that she was out smarted by her mother; she decided to go ahead and go out. She'll wear something that would definitely knock Buffy's socks off. She wanted her and nothing was going to stop her.

**General Mac- You are one in a million. That's a good thing, and I love you for it.**

**Alyson- Not logging in is totally lazy, but I do understand it. I have one more chapter after this, and then I'm going on hiatus. Vacation coming up and all family fun to be had.**

**Ghost Writer- Thanks for the encouragement. I can't make any guarantees; we'll just have to see where my twisted mind takes me.**


	10. Night Out at The Bronze

Through The Years

We know the drill; I shouldn't have to tell you.

Buffy woke up when her phone rung, she was that it was already dark. She must have slept the afternoon away. Joyce knocked on the door, and Buffy covered her face with the pillow.

"Buffy, telephone it's Cordelia." Joyce's voice came through the door.

"I'll get it mom." She hollered back, and grabbed the phone on her nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Buffy, it's me. I will be coming to the Bronze with you Xander and Willow tonight." Her voice came across the line.

A sense of panic rose up in Buffy, not because Cordelia is going with them, but because of something else she couldn't put her hand on.

"What about Elizabeth? I thought you were going to spend sometime with her." She replied, no emotion in her voice.

Buffy winced at the sound of her voice; she just hoped that Cordelia wouldn't take it the wrong way. The brunette ignored Buffy's lack of enthusiasm.

"Mom offered to take care of Lisa. She said that I deserve a night out, I've been concentrating so much on Lisa that I completely forgot about myself." She replied.

"Cool, I'm meeting Willow and Xander at around nine. They said the Bronze is more like a young adult club, or whatever." She told her friend.

"I'll meet you guys there." She said cheerily.

"Okay, bye." Buffy rushed out and hung up the phone.

Cordelia looked at the phone before she hung it up. The tone in her friends voice didn't go un-noticed by her, she wanted to know what was bothering her. She made a mental note to ask her about it later. As soon as she hung up the phone, her little girl came teetering into her room.

"Mama." She said, lifting up her chubby little arms.

Cordelia picked her up, "Hey sweetie, mommy is going out. Will you behave for grandma and grandpa?" She asked her daughter.

The little girl nodded her head, "Lisa be good for gwanma and gwampa." She repeated.

Cordelia placed the girl on her bed, and gave her some of her toys to play with. Unfortunately she didn't want to play with the toys, she was watching her mother.

She went to her luggage and tried to figure out what to wear. She was holding up outfits asking her daughter which one looked better. All she got was a little bit of baby babble.

"Okay, Lisa I will go with my black and red Chinese style dress, and my Jimmy Choo's." She told her daughter. "I'm going to go shower." She took her daughter with her, and sat her outside on the rug while she showered. It was better than leaving her unattended; she stepped out the shower and went into her room. The toddler following right behind her.

"Mommy has to get dressed, close your eyes." She told her daughter.

The little girl put her little hands over her eyes. This was a little game that they played, whenever she was in the room. To a two year old, it was a lot of fun. Cordelia gave herself the once over and finally decided to apply make-up.

"Mommy make up?" The little girl asked.

"Yes, mommy puts on make up. I have to look nice right along with your Aunt Buffy." She replied.

The little girl just smiled, she had no idea what her mother was talking about.

Buffy was having a panic attack, she didn't know what to where and she had less than forty-five minutes to meet Xander and Willow. She pulled out all of her clothes and threw them on the bed. She was looking for her black low rise boot cut, denim jeans from Old Navy. After five minutes of looking, she found them on Mrs. Gordo. She looked at the pig and smiled. Mrs. and Mr. Gordo were her confidantes she was able to tell them stuff that no one else knew. When she would get to missing her friend too much, she would take the pig and cuddle up with him at night. After finally getting dressed, she sat at her vanity trying to figure out if she should wear make-up or not. In the end she decided against it, opting for some cherry lip gloss. Giving herself the once over she left her room and went downstairs. Her mom and Giles were on the couch watching and old Shirley Temple movie. She was one of Buffy's favorite actresses growing up.

"Mom, Giles I'm gone." She told them.

"Have a good evening Buffy. You don't have a curfew, but don't come in too late." Giles warned.

She gave him a huge smile, "I won't, and daddy wouldn't even let me stay out til all hours of the night."

"You are going out dressed like that?" Joyce asked her daughter, looking at her clothes.

Buffy looked at herself a little self consciously, "Do I look too slutty? Should I go change?" The panic clearly rising in her voice.

"No, you don't look as you would say, 'slutty', but you look very nice." Her mom replied.

The blonde gave her a smile, and grabbed her keys and purse. "I'll be home at a reasonable time, don't wait up." She closed the door behind her.

A part of her was having second thoughts about going. Cordelia was going to be there, and she really didn't want to be around her right now. The emotions were too conflicting even for her. She decided to find a guy and flirt with him, there might be some college guys there for her to flirt with.

"Guys are of the good." She repeated to herself as she pulled out of the driveway.

Buffy made it to the club only five minutes late. She got out of the car and went to pay her cover charge. The bouncer at the door tried to flirt with her, but she politely turned them down. She walked into the club and spotted her friends and some blonde girl she didn't know, she was surprised when she saw Cordelia with them. A logical part of her wanted to run into the night screaming, but her rational side won out. It was a time for being with friends, and she wasn't going to ruin their night.

"Hey guys! How goes it?" She yelled over the music.

"Wow Buff, you look amazing. Los Angeles has been very good to you." Xander replied.

"Xander, you're only supposed to look at me." Anya stated.

Buffy raised an eyebrow at the girl; she was a little blunt for her taste. She bet she would give Cordelia a run for her money.

"Ahn, I told you Buffy is an old friend of ours. She moved away before we started second grade." He explained to her.

"I'm Anya, and you can't have my Xander." She told Buffy.

"I don't want Xander, he's my best friend. My boyfriend material I think not." She told the girl politely.

Willow decided that she had enough of Anya, and decided to save her friend.

"Hey Buff, you look hot. Do you plan on snatching up all the guys?" She asked her friend.

Buffy smiled a little and then looked at Cordelia who didn't look to happy. She brushed it off.

"Thank you, and so do you. I leave and you just blossom and grow. Who took you shopping?" She asked her friend.

"Oh, Faith did. She has been like my friend since you left, if you saw her you wouldn't recognize her. She looks that different, dish about LA, did you have a boyfriend?" The red head asked.

Before Buffy could answer Cordelia interrupted them. She was kind of pissed that Buffy had completely ignored her. Usually her friend would always gravitate towards her, but this time was different. Something was definitely off with her friend, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Buffy, you look nice tonight. You are going to have to knock them of with a broom." The taste was bitter.

"You look good also; you'll be breaking hearts left and right." She told her friend. She wasn't lying when she said she was hot.

"Nothing else was said between the two, the tension was rising and if something wasn't done it was going to strangle them alive.

"I'm going to get something to drink. You guys want?" Buffy asked.

"Everyone called out for Cokes." They weren't even old enough to drink yet.

Buffy left the table and made her way towards the bar. The bartender approached her and took her orders. He was trying to flirt with her, but she wasn't having that. The Dingoes Ate My Baby was playing. Buffy thought that they were pretty good. She knows the guitarist. They go back all the way to LA; she wondered what they were doing playing here. The guy brought her the drinks and she returned to the table, but noticed that Cordelia was missing.

"Where's Cordelia?" She asked.

Xander pointed towards the dance floor. The girl in question was dancing pretty seductively with a tall blonde guy. She didn't know whether to be happy, upset, or jealous. She decided to be happy, she dated Angel for crying out loud. The band stopped playing their set and the DJ took over. Oz walked over towards the table, he saw Buffy sitting there.

"Hey Buffy, I didn't expect to see you." He told her. Willow looked on in amazement, she was totally crushing on him, and Buffy knew who he was.

"I told you I was coming here for the summer. So how long ya here for?" She asked her friend.

"Just for a few gigs, then it's back to LA, I'm thinking about attending school here." He told her.

Buffy heard a throat clear, and she saw that her friends were there. She looked a little sheepish.

"Sorry, Oz these are my Sunnydale friends, Willow, Xander, and his girlfriend Anya." She pointed to everyone at the table. "Where's Gunn he usually accompanies to you to all your gigs?" She asked her friend.

Oz had stopped looking at Willow and answered his friend, "Yeah, but some hottie caught his attention. I told him I saw you, so I know he'll be over here momentarily. How's your dad? Did Angelina have the baby yet?" He asked.

Willow looked a little saddened; he knew more about Buffy's life than she did. She was supposed to be her best friend. Xander was too busy paying attention to Anya, to say anything. Before she could answer Cordelia came back to the table and took a sip of her drink.

"Oz, this is one of my nearest and dearest friends, Cordelia. She was the first one who befriended me in kindergarten." She told her friend.

Introductions were made and Buffy went ahead and answered his question, "Dad is doing well, he misses me. Angelina had the baby it's a girl and she named her Dawn. I'm going up there this week-end to see her." Buffy replied with a huge smile on her face.

Cordelia finally figured out what was wrong with Buffy, or at least she thought she did. Buffy missed her friends back in LA and she was saddened that she missed the birth of her baby sister.

"So you have a little sister? When was she born?" Willow asked, by this time Xander and Anya were out on the dance floor.

"Anya has him by the penis. Sometimes I wonder about their relationship, it's built on nothing, but sex." The red head smiled.

"It's not a problem; I knew Xander was going to find a girl interested in nothing but sex. Yeah, I have a little sister, and she was born today. Mom told me, she seemed pretty enthusiastic about it, but I know other wise." Buffy told her.

They continued to make small chit chat, and they were finally joined by Gunn. Everyone noticed a change in Buffy's demeanor, she seemed much more happier and carefree. They heard stories about Buffy's misadventures in elementary school, and high school. How she had all the boys lusting after her, but only had eyes for Spike. Oz disappeared, then came back when a familiar song came over the loud speaker. 'What Dreams Are Made Of' by Hilary Duff.(Let's just pretend that she's been out for a lot longer than she has been.) Buffy began to laugh and turn red.

"What's so funny?" Cordelia asked.

"Oz and I performed this song for our middle school talent show. He was Pablo and I was Isabella, we did the slow part first and then we went into the dancing, he totally left me alone when the solo came up." She told everyone.

"It wasn't bad, we came in second place." He told everyone.

"You guys have to show us that one day." Xander chimed in.

"No one is ever seeing that ever. I told daddy to burn all the copies, but I think he sent one to mom though." She told everyone.

They continued to talk and dance the night away. For the first time that night, Buffy didn't feel on edge. Cordelia was dancing the night away also, so it was all good, but there was a longing in Buffy's heart. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she hoped to figure it out soon.

Cordelia was having similar thoughts as Buffy, except she was raging with jealousy. She wanted to talk to Buffy and find out what was going on. She wanted to gouge the eyes out of every guy looking at the blonde. Buffy did look rather hot, if she could say so herself. Hopefully tomorrow they will be able to talk after dinner. The night wound down and everyone went their separate ways. Cordelia walked beside Buffy and took her hand.

"I wanted to talk to you all night long. Is there something wrong?" She asked her friend.

"No, nothing is wrong. I was just a little homesick for LA, and then I saw Oz and Gunn there. LA is a familiar to me; Sunnydale is like a twilight zone for me you know. It's kind of hard to reconnect with what we used to have. Everyone has changed especially you; you have a baby and all. Not that it's a bad thing or anything, but it's just a little weird."

They had walked to Cordelia's car and leaned against it.

"So you're just saying you feel uncomfortable here. Then why did you come back? From what I heard you could have attended any school in the country." She told her friend.

Buffy sighed, "Yeah, I know, but I wanted to be closer to mom. She missed out on a lot of things when I was growing up. Sure she was there for a few things, but not really, I want her to be apart of my life again. I caught a portion of your conversation with mom today." She confessed.

"You heard everything?" She asked in surprise.

"I didn't hear everything, but I heard the part where you are in love with someone, but you didn't know how she felt about you." She responded.

"That's a conversation for another date. Still friends?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy gave her a smile, "Still friends." She turned and walked to her car.

**A/N: This is going to be the second to the last chapter I am going to be posting before I go on vacation. I have one more to post and then I am on hiatus. I would like to wish every one a Happy Thanksgiving to whoever celebrates it. Try not to eat too much.**

**General Mac- Such a glowing praise thanks. I'm not that good of a writer I just write like I am feeling at the moment. If I feel angst-y, I throw in a little angst, if I'm happy... well you get the picture.**

**Ghost Writer- I'm glad that you did enjoy the story. I'm sorry if it goes against your beliefs. I respect that very much, and thanks for all of the great reviews.**


	11. Buffy's Break Through

Through The Years

**A/N: I am back from my vacation, it was very enjoyable. I hoped everyone's Thanksgiving was a happy one. I am back and very refreshed, I was even able to crank out another chapter.**

Cordelia woke up the next morning in a good mood, tonight she was having dinner with Buffy and her family. Tonight would give her a chance to talk to Buffy, and find out what is really going on with her. The little talk they had last night didn't do anything for her, she knew the other girl was hiding something and wanted to find out what. She got out of bed and headed over to her old bedroom, which now belonged to her daughter. The memories came flooding back to her. Buffy and her would spend many a nights telling stories, watching movies and doing girly things. Sometimes she wished that they could go back to the simpler times, before the blonde moved away, and before she had Lisa. She didn't regret having her daughter, but it was a responsibility that she wasn't ready for. After checking that Lisa was still asleep, she crept back to her room and lay down on the bed. The rain was falling and she could hear it hitting the window, she smiled as she thought back to when Buffy had come to New York for a visit.

_Flash Back 4 Years Ago_

_Fourteen year old Cordelia and thirteen year old Buffy were outside sunbathing, when the rain started. Instead of going in they decided to play outside, something they used to do when they were younger. The two girls were jumping in the forming puddles enjoying themselves, and the summer rain._

_"I'm going to get you!" Cordelia called out to her blonde friend. She took off running after the girl._

_"You can't catch me; I'm much to fast for you." Buffy called back to her friend as she took off into a mad dash._

_They chased each other around and around just enjoying the rain, until Victoria called the two girls into the house. The two girls were met with towels and instructed to take a bath and change their clothes. They hung their heads low as they made their way through the house. As soon as they got upstairs the frowns turned into smiles, and they began to giggle._

_"Mom didn't look happy." Cordelia told her friend, as she was getting her clothes out to take a shower._

_Buffy turned and gave her a bright smile, "It's okay, you know she can't stay mad at us for long." She replied, while also pulling out some clothes._

_Cordelia left the room to take her shower and Buffy went to the guest bathroom to take a shower. The two girls met in the middle and went back to the brunette's room._

_"Buffy can I talk to you?" The brunette asked her long time friend._

_The blonde sat down on the bed next to her friend and rolled her eyes, "Of course, you know you can." She gave her a smile._

_Cordelia started pulling at a non-existent piece of lint on her comforter. She was nervous and didn't know how her friend was going to react._

_"You're my best friend and my sister, I love you very much. I'm starting to have all of these confusing feelings for you. I don't know how or why, but I just do. No matter how hard I try, I just can't shake it you know? I love you Buffy and not the way that a sister loves a sister, but the way my mom loves my dad." She said softly._

_Buffy looked at Cordelia intently and listened as the rain was softly hitting the window. It was funny the way her friend was feeling for her because she felt it too. Problem was she liked guys and didn't like girls not like that anyway._

_"Cordy, there is no need to be afraid of telling me how you feel. I understand how you feel, because I am feeling it also. We're girl's sweetie, practically sisters and us feeling this way about each other would be wrong. Don't get me wrong I love you very much, but we shouldn't act on this. I'm sorry." She replied to her friend._

_In that moment the brunette felt her heart break, Buffy felt the same way, but didn't want to act on it. She decided to do something about it, without thinking she grabbed Buffy by the arms and crushed her lips to the blondes. This move took Buffy by surprise, but she returned the kiss without any problems. Buffy was the first one to break away, a look of bewilderment on her face._

_"I didn't mean too, but I had to show you how serious I was. I meant what I said Buffy, the way I feel for you won't ever change." She got up and left the room._

_End Flash Back_

Cordelia knew that Buffy felt the same way she did, but was scared on how everyone would react. Everyone could see it, but Buffy was too worried about standards, the heart can't help who it loves. She's tried to get over the other girl, but it wouldn't work, she remained single until Angel came along. They dated and next thing you know she was pregnant with Lisa. Angel was very attentive to her and the baby after she was born, but things quickly fizzled out and they decided to go their separate ways. He is still a major part of the little girl's life. With her mind made up, tonight she was going to confront her blonde friend.

Buffy woke up to the sound of the rain hitting her window. She stretched a little and lay back down again. The rain was always something Buffy loved from the time she was younger until now, just as long as there was no thunder. Cordelia had been on her mind a lot since last night, she didn't know what it meant though. Truth be told she was a little jealous over her dancing so provocatively with that guy. She wanted to go over there and knock the living hell out of the guy. It really wasn't her fault that she was living in denial about her feelings for Cordelia, but now everything has changed. The brunette pretty much said that she was in love with someone else, to top it all off she has a daughter. Tonight her family was having dinner with the Chases; to her it was going to be weirdness personified. Her friend was going to want to talk to her tonight, but she didn't know if she could tell her how she truly feels.

Buffy made her way down stairs after showering and changing her clothes. She saw Giles in the kitchen fixing breakfast; it was like a big thing in their house. He was at the stove flipping some pancakes oblivious to the girl's presence. The devil got into Buffy and she went up behind him and poked him in the side. This caused Giles to yelp and almost drop the pancakes. He turned around and glared at a laughing Buffy, she was literally falling over with laughter.

"Buffy, what are you doing? Never sneak up on a person, who is cooking, I could've burned breakfast." He reprimanded her, but had a smile on his face.

"Sorry Giles, I couldn't resist. Usually mom is down here cooking, is she still sleeping?" She questioned her step-father.

"No, she had a headache this morning, and I decided to fix breakfast. I hope you don't mind." He told her.

The blonde gave him a huge smile, one that was mainly for her father, "No, I don't mind at all. Can I talk to you about something?" She questioned him.

Giles turned the stove off, and walked over to the island where Buffy was sitting. He was grinning inside, because Buffy wanted to talk to him. That was something he has been wanting since he first met the girl. He knew she had a father whom she loved dearly, but he wanted her to talk to him also.

"You know that you can talk to me." He gave her a smile.

Buffy let out a sigh, "I like someone a lot, I even love this person, but this person loves someone else. We've known each other since forever, I've always had feelings for this person, but I thought it was wrong. Now this person is back and the feelings I had for this person are now back ten fold. Something's have changed with this person, and now I'm kind of scared. Should I act on these or should I leave it alone?" She looked up at him.

Giles gave Buffy a knowing smile; he knew exactly who Buffy was talking about. Anyone with eyes could see how the two girls felt for each other, yes it seemed like sisters to the untrained eye, but to others it was obvious. Joyce and him were wondering when Buffy was going to wake up and recognize her feelings for Cordelia.

"Buffy, if you really love this person as much as you say you do then you should tell her how you feel. It would never hurt to try, even though she may be in love with someone else, it still wouldn't hurt. You never know Cordelia may feel the same way, don't worry about what anyone else says, you are a grown woman and you can't go around denying how you feel. It's best to do it now before you finally lose what you want the most. A word of advice, don't let the little girl scare you off, if you love Cordelia as much as I know you do, then you could love the little girl too. They are a packaged deal, can't have one without the other." He told her truthfully.

"How did you know that it was Cordelia?" She asked clearly surprised.

He gave her a smile, "Buffy, when she's around we can see your heart on your sleeve. Take the chance and seize the day." He turned around to scramble the eggs.

Buffy had a lot to think about, did everyone know how she felt about the brunette? Was it written all over her face, was she that obvious about it. What Giles had said made sense, it was kind of along the lines of what her father and Angelina told her. Tonight she was going to talk to her friend and let her know how she really feels. She helped Giles set the table for breakfast and Joyce had finally come down.

"What time is dinner tonight?" Joyce asked her daughter.

"Around 7 I believe, but I might go over there earlier." She replied.

Joyce and Giles shared a smile; they both knew what was going to happen. Hopefully they could get it right. Neither had a problem with Buffy dating another girl, it's just something that was new to them. Cordelia would probably be a better choice for their daughter anyway.

"That's good, you two need to spend some time together, plus it will give you time to know Elizabeth better." Giles told her.

Before she could say anything her cell phone started to ring. She held up her finger and got up from the table to answer it.

"Hello?... Hi daddy!" She cried out over the phone.

Joyce couldn't help but smile at the love in her daughter's voice. It kind of hurt her heart a little that Buffy had a lot more love for her father than her. She regretted the decision everyday of sending the girl away, so long ago. She missed out on a lot of Buffy's life growing up, but now that she was back she was determined to make it up to her. Giles placed a hand on hers and gave her a smile.

"I know, mom told me... I will be up there this Friday; I can't wait to see her... I'm not; I have a little sister to spoil... Tell mom that I love her and give her a hug and a kiss for me... I love you too daddy." She hung up the phone and went back to the table.

"Was that your father?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, it was daddy. He was just concerned when I didn't call him back last night. Mom was worried also and she told him to call. She would have called, but Dawn was being demanding. I'm going up there Friday to spend the weekend with them; I have a little sister to spoil." She smiled, and continued eating.

Nothing else was said for the rest of breakfast, everyone was in their own little worlds. Buffy finished up breakfast and headed back upstairs, she needed to find something to wear tonight. She looked in her closet and pulled out a black skirt that went just above her knee with a small split and a white camisole top. It revealed a nice amount of skin, but not too much. With that decided she went back and lay down on the bed, she felt tired suddenly.

Cordelia was rocking Lisa to sleep, when she realized that it was almost five thirty. Buffy and family would be there in less than two hours, she needed to get ready. Getting up off the bed carefully she carried her baby to the other room, and placed her in the child sized bed. Giving her one last look she walked out of the room and closed the door. The time has come for her to pick out something nice to wear tonight.

Buffy arrived at Chase manor at exactly six-fifteen; she was running late because she wanted to look presentable for Cordelia. She rang the door bell and waited for Vincienzo to answer. Buffy didn't have to wait long, because he came to the door a smile on his face.

"Buffy, come on in. We weren't expecting to see you until seven." He smiled at her.

The blonde returned his smile, "Mom and Giles will be here later, I wanted to spend sometime with Cordy before dinner." She replied.

"She is upstairs in her room, go on up." He pointed up the stairs.

Buffy turned around and walked up the stairs in the hallway she saw her surrogate father walking towards the study. Antonio saw Buffy coming out the corner of his eye, he made his way towards her.

"Buffy, it's good seeing you again. Is your mom and Rupert here also?" He asked her casually.

"No, they will be here in a little bit. I just wanted to talk to Cordy before dinner; we really didn't get a chance to talk last night." She explained to him.

"She's in her room, I don't know if she is ready yet, but you can go in." He gave her a smile.

"Thanks dad." She responded.

Buffy walked up to the door and knocked on it, she twisted the knob when she heard 'come in'. The blonde walked into the room and saw her friend standing there wearing nothing but a towel. Her breath caught in her throat and she immediately turned away.

"Sorry, I thought you would have already been dressed." She apologized to her friend.

Cordelia let a smile cross her features, she had a feeling that Buffy would arrive early. She orchestrated this perfectly, but she didn't expect her to turn around.

"That's okay, I had just put Lisa down and lost track of time. Have a seat on the bed. What brings you by?" She asked, as she saw Buffy take a seat on her bed.

"I was kinda hoping I could talk to you before dinner. I needed to do it now before I lost my nerve." She explained.

The brunette stepped into the closet, and came back out dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a shirt. She couldn't help but look at what the blonde was wearing, the skirt was hiked up a little showing a nice amount of thigh, and the shirt was showing just a small amount of cleavage. She had to take a deep breath and get her thoughts under control.

"Well, here we are so talk." She sat beside her friend.

Buffy got up and began pacing, "I have been living in denial for the past eight or so years, and it took just recently for me to realize something. I have been in love with you from the beginning. Maybe not when we were growing up, but a little while later, I was so afraid of what everyone would think. I realized that it didn't matter anymore, I love you Cordelia and I always have. I'm sorry for the way that I've been acting these past few days, but everything hit me so fast. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, I was swimming in it, and I know it's a little late, but I had to get this off my chest. You don't feel the same way I do and that's fine, we could just remain friends and I could be an aunt to that beautiful little girl of yours." She stopped pacing and waited for her friend to respond.

Cordelia was speechless, she's waited to hear Buffy come out and say how she really felt. Now that time has come, but the blonde had it all wrong. She wasn't in love with anyone else, but with her friend.

"Buffy, sit down." She waited for her friend to comply, "There was no one else, other than Angel, but when you heard mom and me talking it was about you. I've tried to deny the way I felt for the longest time, hence the dating of Angel. I wasn't planning on coming back to Sunnydale, but when mom told me you were attending UC Sunnydale, I had to come back. So here I am, I know it's been a while since we've seen each other, but when I saw you the feelings came rushing back. I never got over you and I know you didn't get over me, not that easily anyway. I remember when we had this same exact conversation eight years ago, except this time the feelings are mutual. I'm not suggesting that we jump into a relationship we have to get to know each other again. There's so much we missed out on, I want us to reconnect on that level that we had before we lost contact. I have a child to think about now, and I don't want her to get hurt." She looked at the expression on Buffy's face and quickly added, "I'm not saying that you would hurt me, but you get what I'm saying." She gave her a hopeful smile.

"I would like for us to be friends first and for most. I want to get to know you and your daughter. She seems so precious, I'm sorry if I freaked you out the other day. I was dealing with something's, but someone helped me see clearly." She told her friend.

They began laughing like two school girls. It wasn't the end, but a new beginning for the both of them.

"So tell me, who is Oz?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy smiled, "Oz was my elementary school friend. Actually we go back to being friends in pre-school. When I moved back to LA we reconnected again, along with some of my other friends. Anyways I didn't know him and the Dingoes were going to be playing at the Bronze. He is more like a brother to me than anything else." She explained to her friend.

"That's good to know, I wanted to make sure I didn't have anyone for competition. Tell me about this Spike person you dated?" She commanded.

"Spike is actually William; he went to school with us for one year before he went to England. You know the one who Drusilla was always hanging on? He came back from England all hottie like, he remembered me as I did him. We became friends and eventually we dated. He broke up with me when Drusilla came back into the picture, she was literally insane. We parted as friends though, last time I heard he was going to college in Boston." She replied.

"Wait Drusilla went to your school? How was that possible when Faith was here?" She queried.

Buffy smiled at her friend's bewildered expression, "Drusilla was sent to live with her real father in LA, which I didn't know until later on. So that's how I met back up with the terrible twosome. She apologized for the way she treated me, and we can tolerate each other to an extent. I'm going to LA to visit this weekend, my mom had the baby and I want to see her. I've always wanted a little sister, go figure I get one ten years after the fact. They named her Dawn, from what my dad told me she's a beauty, except she has brown hair instead of blonde. I think it comes from Angelina. Enough about me, tell me about you." She asked her friend.

"I promise to tell you after dinner, I hear our parents talking. Come on lets head downstairs before they send out the search party." She grabbed her friend by the hand and drug her out the door.


	12. Dinner and A Little Conversation

Through The Years

Buffy and Cordelia made their way downstairs, to their surprise they saw parents on the chair with Elizabeth planted firmly on Joyce's lap. This surprised Cordelia the most, her daughter was painfully shy around people she didn't know, not this time she was already attached to Buffy's mom.

"We were wondering when you two were going to come down. Amelia had dinner ready for about fifteen minutes already." Victoria told the girls.

Both girls looked sheepish, "Sorry about that, we were talking about something's and we lost track of time." Buffy answered.

Everyone got up and walked into the dining room, as always from the time they were little Buffy and Cordelia sat next to each other. Victoria and Antonio couldn't help but smile, even though they are eighteen and seventeen they still acted like kids. Joyce looked at the two girls and Victoria in confusion; she wondered what that was about.

"Whenever Buffy would come over, and it was time to eat, those two always sat beside each other. It's funny that after all these years it never fails." Antonio replied.

Everyone laughed at this, "I remember all to well, those two were always together in class. Wherever one was, the other was there. I would mix them up a lot." Rupert smiled.

Elizabeth laughed also, even though she didn't understand what was going on. All she knew the adults were happy, she was happy. The little girl kept staring at Buffy freaking her out a little bit. It was like she was scrutinizing her or something, she just smiled at the girl.

"I think she likes you." Cordelia told her friend.

"I don't know what for, she doesn't even know me." She said offhandedly.

Amelia brought out dinner and placed the food and plates on the table. She had a huge grin on her face when she saw Buffy sitting at the table. The old woman had a soft spot for the blonde since the first time she met her. She knew that Buffy was a special one, as everyone else did.

"Dinner is served; if you need anything let me know. Buffy I'm glad you are here, maybe you could get Little Miss here to eat her food." She pointed at Cordelia.

"I eat my food." She pouted.

Amelia left the room, and everyone served up their plates. Even Elizabeth had her plate and began eating, she was hungry. They began to eat, but it wasn't a silent dinner everyone wanted to know about Buffy, she really didn't like talking about herself. Growing up everything was about her, but now that she's older she wanted to stay out of the spotlight. Plus she didn't want to show Cordelia out, because even though she had a baby, something's she didn't accomplish.

"Buffy, are you going to be cheering for UC Sunnydale?" Antonio asked his daughter.

"Maybe, but with my schedule this semester it might be a little hard. Child Psychology can be really taxing, but it'll be worth it in the long run. Cordy could try out for cheerleading, from what I heard she ruled the squad." Buffy replied.

"Cheerleading is definitely out of the question. I don't like it as much as I used to, besides it will take away from studies and other things." She told the table.

"I was always curious, why would you choose Child Psychology? I thought you would choose business or law." Victoria asked.

"I like children a lot, and if I can help them, whether troubled or not would make me feel better. Besides I was a peer mediator and I was in the Big Brother/Big Sister program." She beamed.

"That's my Buffy always helping out others." Joyce replied.

"Remember when we were in the first grade and Lindsey pushed me down, and you hauled off and punched him in the nose." Cordelia reminded her friend.

Joyce looked at Buffy; she never mentioned anything about that. Rupert smiled a real smile; he remembered that like it was yesterday. Buffy was so tiny, but she could handle herself. He was surprised that Buffy never mentioned it to her mother.

"No one messed with my friends. You're the one to talk; you poured paint all over Angel because he put paint on me." Buffy replied back.

Cordelia turned red at this, she forgot all about that. Even Angel never brought it up; it was the first day of kindergarten when Buffy started at their school.

"Those two were full of mischief; I just hope Lisa doesn't act anyway like her mother." Victoria teased.

The rest of dinner was made with pleasant conversation, Cordelia told them about New York and everything else. Buffy explained about her life in LA, and all the things that went on there. She steered clear of all questions about her achievements, she was a very smart girl, but didn't want to everyone to know it.

"Mom, dad how long are you guys staying for?" Buffy asked her surrogate parents.

"Well princess, we're moving back here. Cordelia is going to school here, and it will give us a chance to watch our granddaughter grow up." Antonio answered.

Buffy looked at the little girl and smiled; she received a brilliant smile in return.

"Do you want any kids yourself Buffy?" Victoria asked.

The blonde smiled a little at this, "Yeah I do. I want two girls and a boy, and maybe a dog. I've always known what I wanted, being an only child and all. Actually I take that back, I'm not the only child anymore. Mom had the baby yesterday; I have a little sister named Dawn. I'm going to go see her this weekend." She replied.

Joyce let out a small smile; she could hear the pride in her daughter's voice. It sent a pang to her heart that her ex could have a baby with another woman, but didn't want another one with her. Victoria looked over at the woman sympathetically; she had been quiet all night.

"I hope you will be coming back this time?" Antonio asked.

"I will be back on Sunday. I may not be in Sunnydale on the week-ends anymore; I want to be a huge part of my sister's life." She smiled.

"Joyce how are things at the gallery? You are all they talk about in New York?" Victoria asked her friend.

"Things are going real well, we are actually having this tribal art showing next week. We have a lot of artifacts that came in. They needed to be sorted through, but it will be worth it." She replied, glad that the subject had changed.

Buffy and Cordelia asked to be excused from the table and took Elizabeth with them. She was covered in food and in desperate need of a bath.

"Someone needs a bath." Cordelia told her daughter.

Elizabeth crossed her little arms, "No, bath. I no like baths." She protested.

"Lisa we talked about this, you need a bath you're dirty." She tried again.

"No bath, no bath, no bath." She kept repeating over and over.

Cordelia was at her wits end, she was a couple of seconds of giving in to her daughter. She knew that the little girl was definitely hers, the attitude and the tantrums were enough. Buffy saw that this girl was just as stubborn as her mother, she decided to help her friend out. From the looks of it Cordelia was about to give in.

"Lisa, do you like stories?" She asked the little girl.

Elizabeth nodded her head enthusiastically, and clapped her tiny hands, "I wike stories." She responded.

"I'll tell you what, you let mommy give you a bath and I will read you a story. Does that sound good to you?" She asked the girl again.

The adults in the room watched this in wonderment, the Chases especially, once Elizabeth set her mind against something there was no turning back. Cordelia even waited for her daughter's reaction.

"I take bath, you read stowy?" She asked tentively.

"I'll read you a story." She smiled.

The little girl reached up and Buffy picked her up, she took her up the stairs leaving behind four sets of shocked parents and a truly surprised Cordelia. The brunette quickly followed them up the stairs; her Buffy was a natural with kids.

"Did you see that? Elizabeth never gives in that easy." Antonio responded.

"That's our Buffy; no one was able to ever say no to her." Joyce replied.

Amelia came out and gathered up the dishes, she noticed that three of the occupants were missing.

"Would you care for some coffee or dessert?" She asked.

"Coffee would be good." Victoria answered.

"Where did the two little ones and wee one disappear to? I have their favorite desserts ready for them." Amelia asked.

"They went to give Elizabeth a bath. Why not save it for them as a surprise?" Antonio replied.

"Right away sir. Coffee will be out shortly." She gathered the rest of the dishes and left the room.

"Let's go into the sitting room, we never really used it." Victoria suggested.

All the adults went into the sitting room and sat down on various chairs. Their conversations were never dull, they talked art, and things that adults talk about that they don't want their children to know.

Buffy and Cordelia were upstairs in the bathroom giving a squirming Elizabeth a bath. It was a lot harder than the blonde thought it was going to be. They finally got the girl cleaned and hair washed. Cordelia grabbed a big fluffy towel and wrapped it around the girl.

"You didn't tell me that she was a busy body." Buffy griped to Cordelia.

Cordelia picked the girl up and took her to her room, where she proceeded to dress her.

"What did you expect Buffy? She's two, and two year olds don't really like baths." She explained, as she put her daughter's pajamas on.

Buffy walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a book from Cordelia's massive children's book collection. Deciding on 'One Fish Two Fish' by Dr. Seuss, she walked over to the bed where the little girl was already tucked in.

"I promised the little lady a story, and here we are." Buffy presented the book and sat down next to the girl, and began to read.

Cordelia sat in the rocking chair across from the girl's bed and listened as Buffy read the story. Everyone was right; Buffy is a natural with kids, she chose the right course of study. Watching the blonde read to her daughter made her wonder if she ever had children would she read to them too, would they look like her. The story was over and the little girl was fast asleep. The two girls tip toed out of the room and across the hall to Cordelia's room.

"You are a natural with kids. Are you sure you shouldn't be a teacher?" Cordelia asked closing the door behind them.

Buffy sat down on the bed and glanced up at her friend, "It did cross my mind, but I like this better. Lisa is a really good child; I wonder where she got that from." She asked her friend.

Cordelia made her way over to the bed like a stalker to his prey. Buffy knew what was going to happen so she leapt off the bed and around the other way. The brunette had her trapped in the corner and began tickling the blonde mercilessly. Buffy couldn't help but laugh and try to stop the onslaught.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She cried out between tickles.

The brunette wouldn't stop, "Not gonna work Summers, I want you to cry Uncle." She persisted in the tickling.

"Never!" Buffy cried out.

Cordelia continued until Buffy finally gave up, "I give Uncle." She panted wildly. "It's been too long since we had one of those. I think it's your turn." Buffy got up and approached her friend.

"Buffy, don't do it. I didn't mean it; come on you wouldn't do this to your best friend." She pleaded with the girl.

"Not gonna work this time Chase, turn about is fair play." She pounced on the other girl and began tickling her until she actually turned blue in the face.

"I'm sorry Buffy please stop." She cried.

Buffy finally stopped and pulled her friend up off the floor. Once they were on the bed she put some space between the two of them. This worried the brunette a little and she moved closer. The blonde moved away a little, this was making her mad.

"What is your deal Buffy? We can't sit close to each other. We've done it plenty of times before, so what is different now?" She asked, clearly pissed.

"There is no deal Cordy, I just want a little space. It's hot in here, and being next to you makes it hotter." She blurted out, but put a hand over her mouth realizing what she just said.

Cordelia couldn't help but smile at her friends little slip up. She made Buffy hot, but was it a good way or a bad way? She decided to press it a little further; no one could deny her not even Buffy.

"I make you hot? Would you like to explain that to me?" She asked.

"I meant I was already hot from the tickle match we just had, and being next to you is bringing in more heat. Hence, the making me hot." She told her friend, it didn't sound believable even to her.

"If you say so Buffy, you're going to LA this Friday. When are you coming back again?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving Friday morning and will come back either Sunday night or maybe Monday. I want to spend a little time with my sister, cause I know when school starts I probably won't see her as much." She replied.

"I hope you enjoy yourself, tell dad and Angelina I said hi." She told her friend.

"I just had an idea. Why don't you come to LA with me? It's been a long time since daddy has seen you. We could use this as a reconnecting thing." She suggested.

Cordelia smiled at the idea, "That would be great, but what about Lisa? I can't just up and leave her with my parents for the week-end." She replied.

"We can take her with us. I'm sure daddy would like to meet his honorary granddaughter." She taunted.

"I want to go. Let me tell mom and dad, I'm sure they will be deligted. They always loved you for some reason." She teased.

Buffy brushed off her nails, "I'm a loveable person." She replied.

The night wasn't so bad after all.


	13. Comforting Talks and Strange Dreams

Through The Years

**A/N: Sorry this story is lacking in updates, but 'Right Kind of Wrong' is taking up a majority of my time. I'm not abandoning this story; it's like my second baby I say that because 'One Night Can Change Your Life is my first. I will try and get better at updating, I promised myself that every update I do for RKOW I will update for this one. With that said, on to the story.**

Buffy and Cordelia spent the rest of the evening talking and making plans for the weekend when a knock sounded at the door. They stopped talking and Cordelia told whoever to come in. Victoria Chase came into the room and smiled when she saw the two girls lying on the bed hands under their chins talking.

"Buffy, I just wanted to tell you that your mom and Rupert have gone home. You can stay as long as you want." She told her adoptive daughter.

"Thanks for letting me know, but I really need to get going. We're not as young as we used to be." She replied.

Cordelia sat up and entered the lotus position, "Mom, Buffy invited me and Lisa to LA this weekend." She said excitedly.

"I'm glad to here that, but why don't your father and I watch Elizabeth and you and Buffy could go. Make a girls weekend of it, I know how much you two missed each other. Plus it will give you a chance to meet some of the other people who influenced our Buffy's life." She smiled.

"I can't have you do that. Lisa could come along it's no problem, besides dad would like to meet his honorary granddaughter." Buffy answered.

Victoria considered this, but stuck to her guns. After talking with Joyce and Rupert she knew the girls needed this time together. It was obvious that there was feelings between them, but she didn't know how deep they ran. She should have seen it from the time they were younger, they connected so well together. They were always protective of each other, and they were constantly holding hands and telling each other they loved one another. Sure when they were younger it was innocent, but now that they were older it took on a different meaning.

"No, you two haven't seen each other in three years. Elizabeth can go along the next time, I'm pretty sure you'll be going there every chance you get." She gave the girls a wink and walked out the room closing the door behind her.

"Mom seemed pretty cool with the idea of us going to LA." Buffy stated.

"It makes me wonder what she has up her sleeve. We could actually hang out and go shopping and all that other good stuff. Besides I want to meet the rest of Buffy's friends who so conveniently took our places." She teased.

The blonde sat up and playfully pushed her friend, "No one took your places. You never told me why you name your daughter Elizabeth. I mean there were other names out there, you chose that one." Buffy told the other girl.

"I named her after you. I took one look at her and she captured my heart, just like you did the first time I met you. I was missing you badly and she looked more like and Elizabeth than anything else." She explained.

Buffy took her hands in her own and smiled, "I'm honored you named her after me. It makes me feel special, but I haven't used Elizabeth in so long, I'm just glad someone else has to carry on that name. What's her middle name?" She asked out of curiosity.

The brunette blushed a little, "Her middle name is Annabelle. Angel came up with the middle name. I told him no because it's too close to your middle name." She replied.

"It's okay, not many people know my middle name. Well maybe all of Hemery when I graduated. I don't think Willow or Xander knows my middle name. Hell I don't think they know my real name." She smiled.

They laughed until they cried, "I really missed you Buffy. These past three years has been the hardest. I wanted to come out and see you so many times, but Elizabeth and engagements kept me occupied."

"It's okay, I'm bad also. I could have hoped on one of daddy's many jets or an airplane to come and see you, but I was going through some things. That was then, this is now. We have a lot of time to make up for. We're starting college in a few weeks that's a whole new experience for us. Willow will be there and so will Xander, Lord knows who else we might run into." She smiled.

The brunette smiled back, "It's late, I think you need to go before mom and Giles have a fit about you not coming home." She told her friend.

"I don't think it would matter to them. But you're right, I need to go. Let's go out tomorrow. You, me and Lisa, Willow and Xander are optional. When are you going to tell them about Lisa?" She asked her friend.

"I'll tell them soon. I just don't want them to think badly of me. I'm a teenage mom, another statistic." She confessed.

"C.C." Cordelia smiled at the use of her nickname. "They won't think any different of you; this is Xander and Willow we are talking about. We've known them since forever, they love you just as much as they love me. I'm pretty sure they will accept your daughter, just think they have a niece to spoil." She told her friend.

Cordelia got up and hugged her friend, "I should have never doubted them or you. I'm so glad that you are in my life. We really are like sisters, but with different hair." She broke the hug.

"I really need to get going. I'll call you or you could call me, it doesn't matter. Or just come on by, we could have breakfast or something." She walked to the door and opened it, but not before turning around. "This is going to take a little getting used to, but it's a good thing. Just give me time; it'll work out in the end." She walked out closing the door behind her.

Cordelia got off the bed and decided to change into her night clothes a smile playing on her face. She would give Buffy all the time she needed, but now she had a bonus. She could tell that Lisa warmed her way into her friend's heart, and because of her Buffy was going to be around a lot more. She would never use her child as a ploy that was one thing that she wasn't going to do. Angel tried to use the little girl as a way to get her to stay with him. Even though he was cheating with Darla behind her back, she was naive, but not anymore. Once she freshened up she went across the hall and checked on her baby. The little girl was sound asleep thumb in her mouth, cuddled up to Mr. Felix her cat. It reminded her of Buffy, and how she would have Mr. Gordo with her every time she spent the night. Closing the door softly behind her she went to her room turned off the light and climbed into bed.

Buffy made it home; she had been real thoughtful all the way. Tonight had progressed well between her and Cordelia. In a way she wished Lisa was going with them to LA, that way they wouldn't have to be alone like that. She felt silly hiding behind a little girl, but she was afraid that things would spiral out of control in a good way. In reality she wasn't ready for that to happen yet, her feelings were all over the place. Opening the door she didn't see anyone in the living room she turned off the light and headed upstairs to her room. Turning on the light she went to her drawer and pulled out a pair so boxer shorts and a shirt that said, _"Bad Girl"_ in diamond type baubles.

She came across a picture of her and Cordelia; the two of them were in Cancun for their sophomore year Spring Break along with Willow and Xander. The sun was setting and Buffy was sitting in the brunettes lap, her green tennis skirt was hike up showing a lot of leg, and Cordelia had her hand placed absentmindedly on her thigh. Instead of looking at the camera they were looking at each other. She placed the picture on her dresser and continued to get dressed. She padded over to the bathroom and began to moisturize her face and brush her teeth, even though she wasn't much of a make-up wearer, it was still no reason not to moisturize. With her nightly routine out of the way she went back into her room and climbed into her bed.

Before she could get comfortable her cell phone rang, judging by the ring tone she could tell it was Cordelia. Smiling for a moment, she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She said cheerily.

"Hey Buffy, were you sleep?" The brunette's voice came over the line.

The blonde sat up in bed, pulling the blankets up over her waist, "Yeah, I'm up. So what's the sitch? I just left like and hour ago." Buffy queried.

Cordelia let out a sigh, "I just wanted to make sure that you made it home okay. I didn't want to call the house and wake up your mom and Giles." She explained.

"I made it home just fine; right now I am in the bed with Mr. and Mrs. Gordo. They keep me company at night." She replied.

"You still have those pigs? I thought that you would've out grown them by now, sentimental much?" She asked sarcastically.

Buffy missed her friend's sarcasm, "Yes I am. Daddy gave me Mr. Gordo and someone special gave me Mrs. Gordo." She replied.

The brunette let out a laugh; it was music to Buffy's ears.

"I just wanted to make sure that you made it home. I will be over there with Lisa at about nine, please be up." She told her friend.

"I will, now let me go before I won't wake up in time." She replied.

"Good night sweet pea." Cordelia said over the line.

"Good night angel." Buffy replied then hung up the phone.

Cordelia hung up the phone with a smile; she knew that Buffy wasn't going to be up on time. If anything Buffy was always late, punctuality was never her thing. Turning off her light she got comfortable and drifted off to sleep. Her mind full of thoughts with her blonde counterpart.

A few streets over at 1630 Revello Drive a blonde occupant was having a hard time finding sleep. Her mind was all over the place, mainly about a certain brunette. She wondered where this was going to go. Would they be a couple? Is this a passing thing for the both of them? Buffy still loved guys and maybe that wouldn't change, did that make her bi? The thoughts and the questions were running through her head, finally shutting them out she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_Dream _

_"I can't believe summer is almost over." Buffy told her friend, as she rubbed sun screen on her back._

_"I know, it really sucks. School will be starting soon, what if we don't see each other as much?" Cordelia asked with concern._

_Buffy stopped rubbing and the brunette turned to face her, "We will see each other, not as often, but we will. Besides we have a little girl to look after._

_As if on cue a little brunette girl came running poolside until she was stopped by Buffy._

_"What did I tell you about running?" She asked the girl._

_"Sorry, Buffy. I wanted to tell you and mommy something." She replied._

_Cordelia sat up and put the girl beside her, "What's up princess?" She asked her child._

_Elizabeth looked between Buffy and Cordelia and back to her mother, "I want Buffy to be my mommy." She said matter of factly._

_"What do you mean? You want Buffy to be your mother? Aren't you happy with me?" The brunette asked the child._

_The little girl sighed, "I am happy, but you and Buffy love each other. You said when mommy's love each other they become a family. It's obvious that you love Buffy, she loves you, and you both love me. We can be a family, the three of us." She said proudly._

_Buffy and Cordelia exchanged glances and smiled. They knew once Elizabeth set her mind to something it was hard to get her to change it._

_"We'll see okay?" Buffy replied, not really trusting herself to form words."_

_The girl grabbed them both into a hug, for a four year old she could be very persuasive when need be._

_End Dream_

Buffy and Cordelia shot up in bed simultaneously, even though they were on different streets. Buffy turned on her light and wiped the sweat from her brow, the dream to her seemed so realistic; she wondered if Cordy had the same dream. Deciding that it was too late to call she turned off her light and went back to sleep.

The brunette couldn't help but smile, the dream was a revelation to her. In her mind she wondered if Buffy had the same dream. It felt so realistic and vivid, like it was happening then. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 3 am; she decided to talk to Buffy tomorrow morning. Curling up in her bed, she drifted off to sleep thoughts of a certain blonde in her head.

Buffy felt like she was on the ocean the way the bed kept moving. Finally having enough of the movement she woke up to find a two year old smiling brightly at her. The blonde sat up and put the girl beside her on the bed.

"What are you doing up here munchkin?" She asked the girl.

"Mommy." She pointed at the girl sitting in the chair in the corner.

"Cory what are you doing here? You said you would be here around nine." She rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Well, Sleeping Beauty awakens. Really Buffy I thought you were going to sleep the morning away. It's nine-thirty, what happened to being ready at nine." She told her friend.

Buffy stretched a little giving the other girl a glance at her slender stomach. She pretended like she was reading the girls top.

"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night, with dreams and all." She told her friend.

Joyce came in the room, "Sorry, but I want to spend some time with my granddaughter. Elizabeth would you like to help me make pancakes?" She asked the two year old.

The little girl climbed over Buffy and took Joyce's hand, "Me like pancakes." She answered.

The two girls watched as Joyce led the girl out of the room. The silence was thick; neither girl knew what to say. Should they ask about the dreams or make small talk.

"So, _'Bad Girl'_, just how bad are you?" Cordelia asked wanting to break the silence.

Buffy looked down at her shirt and smiled; it was a gag gift from Spike for her birthday.

The blonde smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know." She climbed out of bed and went to her closet to pull out some clothes for the day. The other girl had to look the other way to keep the un-pure thoughts she was having at bay.

"You said you had dreams, would you care to explain? I mean you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." She asked.

Buffy stopped what she was doing, "It was a series of dreams, but one stood out with me. I don't want to talk about it right now. Not until I find out exactly what it means you know." She explained.

Cordelia took her explanation at face value. She decided not to press the issue anymore and let it die. Her friend would tell her sooner or later, she hopped that it was sooner, rather than later.

"Cool, so what exactly are we doing today?" She asked.

"I was thinking about the zoo, I'm pretty sure that little lady down there would be thrilled to see the animals, maybe have a little lunch, then possibly meet up with Xander and Willow for some ice cream. Nothing spectacular, I just want to get to know my niece that's all." She shrugged.

"I'm going downstairs, while you take care of whatever it is that you need to. Don't take forever the food is going to get cold." She told her friend in passing.

"Ha-ha-ha. You are funny." She called back.

Cordelia walked out and closed the door behind her and sighed. She has a lot of work cut out for her. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, she saw her daughter making pancakes with Joyce, while Giles was cooking the bacon.

"Did my daughter finally get out of bed?" Giles asked the brunette.

She sat down on one of the bar stools, "Yeah, I swear that girl is never on time for anything." She told them.

Joyce laughed, "Tell me about it, she would probably be late to her own wedding. She was a few days late being born." She told the occupants in the kitchen.

"How did your talk go last night?" The gentleman asked he placed a glass of juice in front of his other daughter.

Cordelia took a sip and put her glass down, "It went pretty good, Buffy feels the same way about me, but she's still scared a little. I will give her time and not pressure her, if she wants to see other people while we are working on a thing, that's fine with me. I might even do it myself." She smiled.

Buffy came down stairs and stopped when she heard Giles and Cordelia talking. She didn't want to ease drop, but it was hard not too.

"I'll give her time and not pressure her, if she wants to see other people while we are working on a thing, that's fine with me. I might even do it myself." She smiled.

The blondes heart dropped at this news, she was actually considering them dating other people while they were working on a thing. She walked downstairs and into the kitchen a neutral look on her face.


	14. Breakfast at the Summers

Through The Years

A/N: This story has been neglected, but now I'm going to write a little more for it. Thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently. I haven't abandoned this fic, but the holidays and RL can be a bitch sometimes.

Cordelia looked up as she saw Buffy enter the kitchen a small smile was on her face. Buffy gave a little half smile and sat on the other side of the island.

"Buffy decides to join the land of the wake." Cordelia joked.

"Yes, I was tore out of my sleep by a two year old and her mother." She tried to joke back, but wasn't feeling it.

Giles finished up the breakfast and gave Buffy a sympathetic smile. He had a feeling that the blonde was there when the brunette said her little piece. Buffy returned the smile ten fold; even though she had a father she loved him just the same. Joyce came back in the kitchen from setting the table for breakfast.

"Table is set, let's eat." She announced.

Buffy, Cordelia, Giles, and Joyce each grabbed a dish and walked into the kitchen. Elizabeth was already in the chair ready to eat. The little girl gave the adults a toothy smile; they couldn't help but smile back. Everyone was situated at the table, Giles and Joyce sat at the end while Buffy sat across from Cordelia and Elizabeth.

"What are your plans for the day?" Giles asked.

"We're going to take Lisa to the zoo, and then maybe McDonald's, ice cream, and then we're going to go meet Willow and Xander a little later." Cordelia answered, she winked at Buffy.

"Sounds like you have a very exciting day ahead of yourselves. Buffy when are you leaving to go visit your father?" Joyce asked her daughter.

Buffy stopped chewing and swallowed, "I'm actually leaving tomorrow night. I want to spend all the time in the world with Dawn. Besides dad wants to get some quality Buffy time in." She smiled.

Joyce still felt a little ill at ease when Buffy talked about her father. In a way it seemed like Buffy was trying to punish her for sending her with her father. She thought that is was a good thing at the time, but now she realized that it wasn't. A lot of time has been lost between the two of them, her own daughter seemed like a complete stranger to her.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. Cordelia, are you going with her?" She asked.

The brunette took a sip of her juice before answering, "Yeah, I want to see dad, and meet my honorary step-mother. Plus it will give me a chance to find out all about Buffy and her friends. I already met Oz and Gunn, can't wait to meet the rest." She smiled.

Giles decided that he had been silent long enough, "You met some of her friends from LA?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, they were doing a show at the Bronze. Buffy introduced us; he told us some stories about my friend." She told him.

Buffy chose this time to clear her throat and shook her head at the brunette. Her parents so did not need to know what she was up to in LA. That was something she wanted to keep hidden.

"Did he tell you about the talent show? They did a cute song, I couldn't believe Buffy actually got up there and sung." Joyce told the table.

Cordelia perked up at this, "Do you have the tape? I would love to see it." She said sweetly.

Before Joyce could answer the tiny blonde interrupted, "Boy look at the time. We need to get going if we're going to see everything at the zoo." She blurted out.

"Buffy does have a point. Take the little lady out for the day, enjoy yourselves. I will show you the tape at another time." Giles spoke up; he knew how uncomfortable Buffy was getting, especially when it came down to showing the tape of her eighth grade talent show.

Cordelia gave a slight nod, and began cleaning up the little girl. Lucky for her she didn't make a big mess with breakfast. Buffy got up from the table and walked into the kitchen, she was followed by Joyce.

"Buffy is everything alright? You seem not like yourself today." She asked in concern.

Buffy rinsed her plate off and put it in the dishwasher, "I'm fine mom, and I just didn't sleep well last night. You know dreams and all, not of the good." She smiled.

"I just want to make sure that everything with you was okay. You know I love you right?" She asked.

The blonde gave a billion dollar smile, "I know you do, and I love you too." She gave her mom a hug and walked towards the entryway between the kitchen and the dining room, she turned around, "Mom, I forgive you for sending me with dad. I'm actually glad that you did." She walked out of the kitchen.

She told Giles good bye and walked into the living room to gather her friend and her niece.

"All right, who is ready to go?" She asked.

"I go! I go!" The two year old screamed.

Buffy grabbed the girls hand and led her out the door. They were followed by Cordelia, who had a huge smile on her face. There was probably hope for the two of them after all.

"Whose car are we going to take?" The brunette asked.

"We could take yours that way we don't have to worry about moving a car seat." Buffy suggested.

"My car it is." She replied.

Buffy buckled in Lisa and got into the passenger seat, she buckled herself up also.

"I'm really glad that we are going out like this. It really means the world to me." Cordelia told her friend, as she started up the car.

"Like I said, I want to get to know my honorary niece. Besides it gives me a chance to spend some time with you also." Buffy replied offhandedly.

The brunette smiled and drove out of the Summers driveway. The ride to the zoo was made with a little conversation here and there, but mostly the quiet babbling of the girl in the back seat.

"So we're leaving for LA tomorrow night?" Cordelia asked.

"That would be the plan. That way, we will have, all day Friday to spend with Dad, mom, and of course Dawn. Then on Saturday we can have a girl's day out, you know I can show you everything. It really hasn't changed much since you've last been there." She told her friend.

The last time Cordelia visited her out in LA was the summer before 10th grade year. They spent the time shopping and going to the beach, and just hanging out with each other. It was a good time for the both of them, little did they know that it was the last time they would see each other.

_Flashback_

_It was the fourth of July and Buffy and Cordelia were down at the beach to watch the fireworks. It had been a comfortable day to say the most, Hank grilled, and the family got together for the annual Summers barbecue. Willow, Xander, and a few of Buffy's friends made an appearance along with Joyce and Giles. It was a little awkward having both her parents with their significant others in one gathering. Everything went fine, and now the teens were at the beach waiting for the show._

_"When are you two losers going back?" Cordelia asked._

_"We're leaving tomorrow; Mom and dad are taking me to Disneyland." Willow griped._

_"At least you'll have something fun to do. I get to spend the rest of the summer working for my uncle." Xander said desponded-ly._

_"Oh my god Willow! What are you ten?" Buffy asked her friend._

_The red head shifted uncomfortably, "Apparently so, my parents aren't around. I guess they forget how old I really am." She said softly._

_Buffy shifted herself comfortably between Cordelia's legs, and leaned back while the other girl wrapped her hands around her waist. To them it was the most natural thing in the world, but to the other two it seemed like something more._

_"Since when did you two become all couple-ly?" The boy asked._

_"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked._

_Xander started gesturing wildly, "You know the whole Buffy sitting between your legs, and arms around her waist thing." He replied._

_Buffy glared at him, "We are not together like that. It's just a little friendly comfort." She explained, but doing a bad job of it._

_Willow decided to join in, "Oh yeah, like Xander and I do that. You know since we're good friends and all." She joked._

_Cordelia grew tired, "Okay, dumb and dumber enough! There will be no more joking. The show is starting." She said icily._

_Both teens looked away properly chastised. They made a mental note to never tease the two of them. The fireworks lit up the sky, and nothing else was said. Cordelia leaned down to whisper in the other girl's ear._

_"I'm really enjoying myself tonight. Too bad we won't get another moment like this until next year." She told her._

_Buffy turned and smiled, "It'll be okay, at least we'll have something to look forward to." She whispered back._

_They looked around and noticed that Xander and Willow had moved to the rocks in the front of them. It was obvious that those two liked each other, but had their head to far up their asses. One of these days they were going to get it right._

_"It looks like our little ones wanted some alone time." Buffy joked._

_Cordelia ran her hands through Buffy's silken strands, something she was used to doing, "They need to go ahead and fuck already; the sexual tension between the two of them is thick." She responded._

_The fireworks continued to light up the sky; during the big finish was when Cordelia decided to take her chance. She turned the blonde around surprising her a little._

_"What are you doing?" She asked clearly shocked._

_Without saying anything Cordelia pressed her lips against the other girls. Buffy was a little surprised, but returned the kiss ten fold. Their tongues were battling for dominance, but neither one was willing to give it up. Buffy finally broke the kiss when oxygen became an issue._

_"What the hell was that?" She asked a little dazed._

_"I don't know, but it was hot." The brunette replied._

_They both smiled and broke apart when they saw their friends approaching. They both mouthed 'I Love you' and smiled._

_End Flashback_

Cordelia pulled the car into the parking lot, "There aren't a lot of people here today." She commented.

"Well, yeah that's why I wanted to come. Plus they have a new panda exhibit I want to see." She replied.

They exited the car, but not without unbuckling Lisa. Cordelia popped the trunk and pulled out the little girl's stroller. Buffy went to pick her up to put her in, but the girl protested loudly.

"No stwoller!" She kicked wildly, kicking Buffy in the legs. Cordelia was about to interfere, but the look on the other girls face told her not to.

"Lisa, I know you don't like the stroller, but it's to protect you. Now, I'm going to put you in if you're a really good girl we will go for ice cream after lunch. Would you like that?" She asked the girl calmly.

Lisa visibly calmed and allowed Buffy to put her in the stroller. The brunette couldn't help but look in amazement. No amount of coaxing could ever get the girl into her stroller. Buffy buckled her in, and they began to walk.

"You are a natural." The brunette told the girl.

Buffy just smiled, "You can just call me the child whisperer." She joked. "Now let's go see some lions, tigers and bears."

"Oh my!" Cordelia couldn't help but add.

Together the three of them walked into the zoo, a picture of happiness.


End file.
